"only the mediocre are always at their best."
i use all my mad skilz at work, where perfection is required. i give anesthesia. no second best, no second guessing. no room for error.
so, when i get home, it is time to relax. my family won't remember if my house is perfect, but like my mom used to say, "even if you could eat off the floor--who'd want to?" my kids will remember the pets we had, the fun projects we did, the backyard carnivals, the cookies we made--and they still snuggle under less-than-perfect quilts i made for them 15 years ago. the kids have grown up, and the quilts have moved with them.
yes, perfection, where and when it is needed--but time to relax and be real when the situation is not life and death!