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Perfectionism - X2

My son-in-law and I were having a conversation about how my daughter is a perfectionist.  This and another experience brought her to post This.  So, I post on her blog about how she will learn not to sweat the small stuff, blah blah blah blah blah.......
Then, today, after I have given her these wonderful words of wisdom, I had a moment myself.  I am making lunch and I made Ted a turkey and avocado sandwich.  It was a rather lovely sandwich.  With the other half of the avocado, I am making myself an egg and avocado sandwich.  Ted had bought these avocados.  This was the last of four.  So, I go on to tell him how I really don't like the avocados he bought, because they don't ripen and cut right.  Even ripe, they were rather hard and difficult to slice.  Plus, the skin was really, really thin, and it didn't cut right.  An egg and avocado sandwich consists of squishing avocado and hard-boiled eggs together.  It may not sound very delicious, but, I assure you it is rather tasty.  I am trying to squish the ingredients together and they won't blend at all.  The avocados just won't squish.  So, I am getting more angry and irritated as time goes on.  I then start picking the avocado out and saying bad things.  All the while, poor Ted is apologizing and telling me he is so sorry.  Which, that is making me even more angry, because he is being very nice and I don't want him thinking I am blaming him.  So - I pull these pieces of avocado out - I throw them away and make an egg salad sandwich - all the while, I am angry because I had my heart set on egg and avocado.

Once the ire had died down, I started thinking about my daughter's perfectionism.  I started thinking about school.  I just finished a class that I did not love.  I don't know why I didn't love it, but, I didn't.  It was International Air Fare.  I should have loved it.  But, the part about reading the Sabre screen and figuring out what was "routing" based and what was "mileage" based was sending me over the edge.  I just wanted to finish the class.  When I was taking my final, I was really, really worried about it.  Freaked out to be more exact.  I took the test and was sure that I got a horrible score on it.  I was so sad.  I emailed my teacher and whined about how I had straight A's in all my classes and now it was going to be ruined.  I just new it was.  She responded that she didn't grade the final tests and that I should hear back in a day or two.  It took three days.  I got the email it was graded and I got a sick feeling.  Just freaked completely out.  Guess what happened when I looked up the grade on my final?  It was 100%.  I did not miss a single question.  A combination of feeling stupid and elated took over.  

So, my beautiful daughter, my words of advice were for naught.  I'm still the same as you.  Maybe calmed down a little.  But, I go bat-shit crazy whenever I find out that I made a mistake (ask Trynitee about the last one - and the fact that I dwelled on it all night long).  This I do know; crap happens, mistakes are made, people are human and yes - that includes you and me!  Is it going to stop us from throwing a tantrum whenever something doesn't happen just right?  Nope.  But, at least we know what sets us off. 
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