The Beautiful Life

Making Do…

I was ironing the other day, pressing out hot pink gingham, shaping it into girly curtains, thinking about pretty things…and dreading sewing them up on my in-desperate-need-of-a-tune-up sewing machine. I pictured the fabric bunching and me digging around for a tiny plastic seam-ripper, frustration creeping in before I’ve even begun. So I decided to plan ahead and while I was looking for the aforementioned seam-ripper, I found a big roll of fusible tape. I don’t remember buying it, but there it was. Now the perfectionist in me, who loves to do things “right”, rebelled a bit at the thought. But once I got it out, and pressed it onto still warm gingham, I felt a sigh of relief escape me. I didn’t feel guilty for “making do,” for taking what I’ve been told is the easy way out. It was liberating. I finished my curtains in half the time and they looked great.

And it hit me. Sometimes it’s okay to “make do”, to take a short-cut, to just get by. Sometimes it’s more important to get that extra half hour of rest, to spend time just giggling with a child, to avoid a frustrating sewing experience… It doesn’t have to be “perfection or nothing.” I don’t have to have it all together. What a wonderful thought. I should “make-do” more often.

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