Perfection is Overrated

I periodically have to remind myself that perfection is definitely overrated.

When I first started UndercoverWear, I thought I had to be perfect in every aspect of my life – the perfect mother, the perfect wife, the perfect daughter, the perfect sister, the perfect friend, the perfect businesswoman and stated simply “the perfect woman.” (There’s that youth thing again!)

Back then; I did a lot of cooking and even some baking. I was known for my scrumptious brownies. My son’s school was having a bake sale and of course, I volunteered to make them – three-dozen of them. Easy.

The baking was on my To Do list for Friday, but unfortunately the bake sale was Thursday. On Thursday afternoon around two o’clock, one of the other mothers called me at UndercoverWear and offered to pick up the brownies around 4pm. I politely thanked her and said, “No, I’ll drop them off.”

What brownies?  Oh damn.  I screwed up.

My options were limited. I suppose I could leave UndercoverWear and do my best to whip up a batch. Unfortunately, that wasn’t a viable possibility. I had meetings and I didn’t have the ingredients. I could call the school and tell the truth…forget that!

Think, Tiffany, Think!

Ahh, a solution – the “I’m Not Perfect” solution was born. I called a local bakery and

asked the owner for a huge favor – three dozen of the biggest, yummiest brownies he had ever made. Please add extra nuts, chocolate, and anything else that would make these the best brownies in the entire world! I said, “feel free to charge me whatever you want, but these brownies have to be FABULOUS.”

He obliged and I added – “Oh, by the way – please don’t cut these brownies perfectly even.  They have to look homemade. With a chuckle, he agreed to have them ready by 5pm.”

Mission Accomplished…not quite.

I left the office for home at 4pm to get my cake plates and scour the recipe box for a great recipe to include. With a quick edit to the recipe and a tag that read, “Tiffany’s Terrific Treats,” I was on my way to the bakery for the transfer to my plates.

I made it to the school in time for the bake sale and guess what?! My brownies were a big hit! No, I never confessed I didn’t make them and there was absolutely no guilt.

Ladies, when you’ve got too much going on in your life, make the decision upfront. Perfection is overrated. I’m perfectly comfortable not being perfect!