LOOK PAST THE MUFFINS

When I was a high school teacher it wasn’t hard to note how judgmental teenagers can be. I’d overhear conversations they’d have about their peers, their teachers, their parents, and so forth. I was often taken back at how harsh and quick to judge they seemed to be. I don’t know why I was so surprised by it. That’s totally how I was.
And then I remember how as a single girl I’d often look at marriages and think to myself how I would “never put up with that” or how I’d “never marry someone like that.”
And not too long ago when I was married without children, I remember how Michael and I would critique other parents on their parenting. As if we really KNEW what parenting actually entailed!
I don’t claim to be old and wise at this young stage in my life, but I can at least say now that I do know parenting (or choosing a mate or being married or being a teacher, etc.) is actually a bit more complicated than one might think. I still don’t know what parenting really entails. I am certain, however, that life’s experiences are wising me up enough to say, “I don’t know” and that maybe I really am just human like everyone else.
The other day I was making blueberry muffins. My fave. I could eat muffins all the time. But, true to form, I burned my beloved muffins yet again. As I was thinking about how the heck I let that happen again, it made me think of how this little example of burning muffins perfectly illustrates a life truth I am constantly fighting to accept.
Oftentimes I hate facing the reality of being mortal, full of weakness, and fault-bound. So maybe these little muffins will give me practice making peace with imperfection. Maybe I’ll never have perfect “muffins”, and maybe that’s okay.
We’re all human and we all have burnt muffins sometimes, ya know?