Welcome to your first, and maybe only, Perfectionists Anonymous meeting. If you dropped by to find the perfect way to decorate your tree, you're in the wrong place. If you're here to embrace the beauty of your imperfect tree, read on. Or the tree you haven't had time to even put up or decorate at all.

Today I'm sharing with you {just a couple} items from my own laundry list of perfectly imperfect moments… this week alone.

{Psst. It’s only Tuesday and we have a whole bunch more where these came from.}

We were going for a chic and classic vintage Christmas look, this year, with delicate glass ornaments and subtly colorful décor. The reality?

Instead, we put the finishing touches on our classic 70s Christmas look, definitely retro, certainly not vintage. And, "subtly colorful" is a nearly obscene understatement for what we really achieved.

This ornament is actually on our tree.

Uh, huh.

This one, too.

And, meet our squirrel. No, not a Time Squirrel by any means. This is a salute to a family favorite, “Christmas Vacation”. He's found hiding in our Christmas tree, every year. Merry Christmas, nostalgic husband. XO

Three pairs of boots and a pair of Nikes OUTSIDE the shoe closet door. Yep. We have a shoe closet that has one purpose. It’s our out-of-the-way landing spot for shoes being kicked off as we come in. And, yes, it’s the door just right beyond that load of misplaced boots today. Strange, but true.

And last, but not least, there's the discovery that every kid in the house had opted to leave a major assignment until the night before it was due. (You’d think this Time Squirrel behavior would just soak in after a while, but alas, they're still squirrels in training.)

In the midst of a flurry of book report writing, Western Lit homework, studying for finals, etc. ... I went on strike {for five minutes}. Then... first, in came the daughter. Then the teenage son. Even the nostalgic husband. Five minutes of glorious imperfect perfection. Embraced.

This time of year, most of us can be found guilty of doubting our capabilities as a mother, friend, daughter, and wife. Today, we're reminding the world {well as far as we squirrels can hollar- so give us some help} that we’re all beautifully imperfect and this is the season for grace and love, not for holding ourselves to unattainable standards of perfection.

Rewrite your to-do list and forgive yourself for not getting an A+ on the unattainable standards of perfection you’ve set for yourself.

Do what matters most.