All or nothing

Lately I've had this feeling that I have to be all or nothing and it leads to moments of intense guilt, especially when I compare myself to others who seem to have it all together and never falter.

I didn't compost that orange peel because there was 20 feet of snow outside (okay, maybe it was only 6 inches but it might as well have been 20 feet). There goes my status as "crunchy mom."

I paid $5 more for my groceries this week because I couldn't face going to three grocery stores with two kids in aforementioned 20 feet of snow. There goes my "frugal mom" medal.

I bought regular instead of organic (fill-in-the-blank). Uh oh, not "healthy mom" anymore.

I remember reading years ago in the Tightwad Gazette that Amy Dacyzyn, who some might call the epitome of frugality, takes long showers. I don't remember much else about the helpful hints from the books but that fact has stuck with me for the past 15 years (try not to judge me too much, but yes, I was reading the Tightwad Gazette as a teenager. I was super cool). 

Lightning bolt moment: no one person can be 100% anything, and especially not 100% everything. I'm only seeing a small part of everyone else's life and I'm living mine constantly.

So I put the orange peel down the garbage disposal and take a long shower. There will be many other successes and many more "failures" down the road, but I will continue on, a patchwork instead of a "type", doing what we all do: the best we can in the ways we can.