For the 4th of July this year, my husband and I decided that we would take the kids for a little picnic, so KJ would run his new bike which also encouraged us to spend some time outside together after weeks confiscated inside due to COVID-19. Guess what? It was quite something.

First of all, I was supposed to get things ready, but had such a busy week and did not get to buy the things as planned. When the day came, I was like, let’s forget it! That’s how tired I was and unmotivated. After a few struggles to get the children ready, we finally decided to hit the road. The park was about 5 minutes away from the house, so it was a great deal for us. Here’s what I learned about perfection through this 2-hour family picnic.

1. Not Having it All Together is Okay

As mothers, and if you are like me, you want everything to be so great and perfect. Many times how we envision something to be in our minds, especially when planning for the family whether it be a party, a photoshoot, a getaway, or simply a picnic – may not always turn out as we originally planned . And that’s what happened to me!

I pictured that we would wake up early to pack up the food and get the kids ready to be at the park by 9:30 am, but we got to the park at 1:15 pm. I thought I would get the hot dogs and fruits packed on time, but we ended up leaving with only some watermelons and water. Perfect! Right?

Well, I must say that we had a blast even though it was not all perfect.

2. The Present is What Truly Matters

After all, what truly matters? I’ll take spending time with my family and creating memories together a thousand times over everything else. While in the beginning, I almost gave up on the picnic because it did not seem to be how I perfectly planned it in my head; I must say, after we got back home, I reminisced on the little imperfect details simple as watching my sons running around the park, eating, shouting and all. I got home and could not contain the level of happiness and contentment going on the inside of me.

3. Perfection is When We Are All Together

We took this pic a little while before I started running after our youngest son thinking he can run now all over the place. After all the sweat and all, we had a wonderful time together. The kids were happy. I was overjoyed because I was surrounded  by the people that matter to me the most on earth. At the end of the day, that’s what matters!