The Website of Author Jenny Lundquist

In my latest book, my main character Polly tries to tailor her personality to fit others’ expectations of how a popular girl should dress and act; behavior that’s earned her the nickname PLASTIC POLLY. Polly starts off each chapter with a “True Confession,” something real about herself that she rarely (if ever) shares with anyone else.

I’ve decided to share a few of my own “True Confessions,” which means occasionally I’ll attempt to bust out of my introvertedness and post things from my world that I normally don’t share. So…*takes a deep breath* here goes…

True Confession: I live in the land of “Good Enough”

Like everyone else, my life is FULL. Some of my friends are quite capable of balancing family life and careers, keeping their homes spotless, and throwing elaborate pinteresty birthday parties for their children. But I’m not, and I probably never will be.

Instead, I live in the land of Good Enough. This means that I somehow manage to get dinner on the table most nights of the week; but oftentimes “dinner” at my house means toast and scrambled eggs. I go grocery shopping, but I can’t remember the last time I ever cleaned out my freezer (Do people actually do that?)

I make not-frequent-enough attempts to clean my bathrooms, but I’m “done” far sooner than most people I know. It doesn’t need to be spic-n-span, it just needs to be “good enough.” My kids birthday parties are cakes  from Costco while they play with their friends in our backyard. And as far as I’m concerned, Pinterest is just a tool for me to use for writing. (I actually have a board for The Princess in the Opal Mask here if you want to check it out). As I write this, I just remembered that I have a pile of laundry that’s been sitting in the dryer for two days. Which means my clothes are probably really wrinkled, and, since Ironing is on my list of Things I Don’t Do, I’ll probably have to rewash them.

Here’s the reality for me: If I opted for “Good” instead of “Good Enough” then Not Enough would get done. I have books to write, deadlines to hit, kids who want to be snuggled, and a husband who would actually like to see me sometimes. My agent, editors, kids, husband, and friends could all care less what my house looked like yesterday or today. They just need me to show up in the places that are most important to them.

Unless I’m ever finally successful in learning how to clone myself, there’s simply never going to be enough ‘me’ to go around to meet all the demands of my current life. The best I can do is focus on what’s truly important (loving my family, loving God, and writing the best books I possibly can) and be okay if my life doesn’t look like a shiny, sparkly Pinterest board. The big things will get done. The smaller things, well…they’ll just have to wait.

And for right now, that’s Good Enough.

What about you? Do you opt for Good, or Good Enough? If it’s Good Enough, what do you let slide?

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