Accepting the Imperfections

As I said, "Get it together girls", this happened.
To hell with perfectly posed pictures.
This one is perfect in my book.

St. Patrick's Day was very sneaky this year. I guess I should say it surprised me at how quickly it got here. I had big plans for this day, I did marry an Irish man you know. Somehow it arrived as I was just getting used to writing the date as March and not February.
I had plans this year, but you couldn't really tell. I planned to help out in the classroom. To come up with some stellar rainbow or leprechaun craft to do with the first graders, a fun classroom gift to send to the preschoolers. I pinned and pinned, and searched and pinned again. Somehow all that remained were really great ideas pinned, but no motivation or time in sight. 
Sunday night I scrapped the idea of cake pops, chocolate covered marshmallows, and baggies filled with Lucky Charms cereal. I was tempted to make Lucky Charms Popcorn, but scrapped that too when I realized that I'd have to go back to the store to make that happen. So it was decided by me, and mostly by exhaustion, that we would sit out this holiday. We would wear green, and eat the green goodies left over from Grandma Kathy's St. Patrick's Day celebration earlier in the day, but we'd have to say good night to Pinterest Perfection.
St. Patrick's Day was on a Monday as you well know, and Mondays are usually the worst day of the week. Monday morning always starts off terribly. There are always fights about hair or shoes, or what to eat for breakfast, even when we are creatures of habit and wear or eat all the same things anyway. But because we had to wear green, our outfits had already been decided. Because we were happy with our choices, breakfast went swimmingly. Then the question of all questions:
"Mommy, can I take some treats to school today?"
And because we are never on time on any day of the week. And because thankfully the closest grocery store is about a block away. And because if you are going to be late, you may as well bring treats for everyone, I said yes. Yes, because I say no all too often. And yes because I wanted a little bit of St. Patrick's Day celebration even if it was last minute and not Pinterestly perfect.
Yes, I did pay $20 for frosted cake cookies with green sprinkles. And yes we rushed through the grocery store, and yes I did send the left over shamrock cookies to preschool repackaged in some Gladware. And despite all those shortcomings, we made it to school before the last bell, and we didn't have one trantrum or a single tear.
It wasn't the St. Patrick's Day I had planned. I didn't volunteer in the class room. We didn't make leprechaun catchers or fingerpaint rainbows. We didn't have green cake pops, or green pancakes, and we didn't even have new green St. Patrick's Day shirts. And somehow none of that mattered. We had fun, we had an adventure before eight thirty in the morning, and most importantly we now have the memory.
At the end of the day, the only thing the girls will remember is Mom said yes to twenty dollars worth of cookies. The girls will remember that they were almost being late to school, and it was on purpose with a purpose. And they will remember mom barking at them because she is trying to take pictures at the end of the day because mom almost forgot. And even when we can't even get it together to take the perfect picture, we take one that is even better than perfect. 
Because some days you just have to accept the imperfections.