False Start

Quote of the Day: Once you accept the fact that you're not perfect, then you develop some confidence. ~Rosalynn Carter

Another good one for us writers:  No one is perfect...that's why pencils have erasers. - Anonymous (or is that all of us).

And, one from my drama:  Perfect is a word used to describe something that doesn't exist. - heard it from a friend of a friend.

Here are a pair of imperfect hands.

I played for our church service again today.  I started out with some fun prelude music.  One piece was a jazzed up version of our gathering hymn.  Then, the service started.  I don't know what happened, maybe I was distracted by the readers who were right next to me and the really tall candle, or maybe it was the water they poured into the Baptismal bowl, or maybe I had the prelude song in my head and didn't know where to start, or I hadn't drunk enough coffee that morning. When it came time to start the first hymn, I was in the wrong spot.  I mean, way off.  I felt like asking, "Does anyone know where they put middle C on this piano?"  or, "Can you tell me what key we're in?  Oh, those tiny tic-tac-toe grids mean we have a couple sharps."  Whatever the reason, I had to stop the intro and restart, twice. 

We all have false starts now and then.  After the service, while I had fellowship snacks and conversation with other moms, they reminded me that they know all about false starts.  In fact, one is a track coach.  Ever heard of a foot fault, jumping the gun, dropping a baton?  How about some more: fumbling the ball, missing a cue, forgetting a name, burning the bacon.  Ever typed a word wrong, on a job app?  Agent query? Have you ever looked at your writing and thought, Nope, this is not going in the right direction.  I need to turn around and start over.  Which brings up another great comparison.  Have you ever turned down the wrong road? How about your relationships, ever felt a need to start over?

The best way to keep your poise in such situations is to let go of perfect, smile, appologize, and start again.  This is the advice I gave my students when we had our piano recital.  I said, "If you're off, either play through it, or find a place to restart.  Don't fall apart.  We all make mistakes.  Keep on playing."

Thanks, Rejoice friends for accepting my imperfections today.

 
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Journaling Prompt:  Describe a time when you needed to start over.