It's a word I'd used all the time. I'd had it used to describe me.
I saw nothing wrong with the word. I felt like it was the best way to describe how I was feeling.
The word?
Perfect.
Hubby immediately halted the conversation and made it lovingly clear that neither of us was perfect. We WOULD make mistakes. There WOULD be hurt feelings. There WOULD be disagreements.
And that's OKAY.
It was the moment I realized the big flaw in my previous relationship: We'd placed each other on that "Perfect" Pedestal. When either of us made a mistake (a very human thing to do) that image was shattered.
By going in knowing that neither of us was perfect there was no pedestal from which to fall. He never let me place him up high enough to fall. He kept my feet firmly planted next to his.
And we've been together since 2005.
So there's something to removing The P Word from your vocabulary.