No Use Crying Over Spilled Water

Tonight, I spilled water all over the kitchen floor.

Actually, I spilled water and glass all over the kitchen floor when I knocked over a glass as I was reaching for the light switch.

As the glass and water flew through the air in slow motion, I exclaimed loudly, “Oh, Man!”

I hate messing up. I could have blamed someone else in the house for setting their glass too close to the edge of the counter. In reality, it was my fault. I should have been more careful, and I should have been more observant.

Oh well.

There is no use crying over spilled water.

As I grabbed a a towel and carefully began the process of cleaning up the mess I made, I had a myriad of thoughts rolling around in my head:

“Not now!”

“Why?”

“I’m glad there wasn’t milk in the glass.”

“I hope I don’t step on one of the broken glass pieces.”

“Maybe we need to go back to plastic soppy cups for the entire family.”

Sometimes, I can be hard on myself. I aim for perfection. And I miss the mark way more than I hit it. I get frustrated with myself sometimes – especially when I do something stupid that could have been prevented with a bit more observation and caution.

There’s a quote that often rolls around my world: “Those who don’t make mistakes don’t make anything.”

For all you perfectionists out there like myself, it’s time to give yourself a break. It’s time to be okay with some failure in your life. It’s time to learn from our mistakes and move on.

There’s a whole big, exciting world out there just waiting for you. Stop crying over the spilled water. Go out there and enjoy it!

(One more thing, it sure is windy out there tonight. Don’t forget to batten down the hatches – whatever that means.)