Honest Thoughts on Thinking Honestly

I really hate titling my posts-I always feel like it has to be something clever and smart but never know what to put....Anyway
I have found a new appreciation for honesty. I don't mean the kind of honesty were we don't steal or lie, but the deep and sincere honesty when someone is willing to acknowledge their weaknesses.
I feel like a lot of time the LDS culture presents a standard for women to be perfect. Women joyfully have dozens of children. They are perfect housekeepers. They are gourmet chefs.The successfully manage a budget. They have beautiful, well dressed, good mannered, smart, perfect children. These women are perfect wives. They have incredible testimonies. They have no problem sacrificing so much for so little return. These women are in great shape, dress well, and are always happy.
And then there is me.
I can't have kids. I hate cleaning the showers and dusting (as my house will show) . I  don't always feel like cooking. I wish we had more money for me to spend. I fight with my husband. I sometime struggle with my testimony. I am selfish. I am far from being fit, have worn out clothes, and am not always happy.
I have been sharing these thoughts with some close friends. I've been reading so many blogs about so many women in different parts of their lives. Some of these women have some of the trials I do, while other women have trials of their own. The important thing, is that we all have our struggles. And I think that there is so much beauty in a willingness to admit our imperfections. It is so wonderful to know that I am not alone in feeling inferior. It is okay to not be perfect.
It is okay that yesterday I went over on my caloric intake, or that last week I skipped a day of working out. Because I don't have to be perfect all of the time. And thanks to the insight of others, I can realize that no one around me is perfect. Even if they want me to think that they are perfect and so are their lives. It is okay to have weaknesses and shortcomings. I know that there are some weaknesses that I will never overcome (at least in this life). It is okay that I will struggle with some weaknesses for only a short time. I can work to be a better person. I can work to overcome these weaknesses.
For the things I will never be able to fix, I can still rely on my faith in the power of the Atonement. I can depend on my knowledge that Christ loves me, in spite of all of the things I struggle with. I can know that I am not alone. I can be grateful for what I do have. For what I am good at. For the people who care about and love me. For me.
I am so thankful for women who are willing to acknowledge that they don't have it all. That life hasn't turned out to be the story book that we thought it would be. These women are more inspiring to me than those who choose not to acknowledge their shortcomings. The women who can admit weakness are the women I admire most.