Why I Stopped Trying To Be The Perfect Mom
I’m going to be very open and honest with you and let you in on a secret. A secret that some might be too ashamed to admit…
I’m not the perfect mom.
WHEW, I SAID IT!
I don’t pack my kid’s cute little sack lunches with sandwiches cut into fun shapes.
I don’t send my daughter to school in perfect braids that look straight out of a parenting magazine.
My Pinterest projects have a 50% success rate or 50% fail rate (whichever way you chose to look at it).
We have an embarrassing amount of socks that don’t match in our home.
I also don’t remember the last time I cleaned out my fridge….
This all helps to explain why I forgot it was picture day at school. I try really hard to keep up with all of the homework, after-school activities, and school events. Sometimes though, life gets the best of me. My beautiful seven-year-old showed up for Spring photos this year in wrinkly pants and an outfit that looks like it was picked out by a certified mountain man.
And guess what…
The world didn’t end…
In fact, we woke up the next day and life was perfectly normal. When her pictures came in we had a BIG laugh, picked out the best frame and proudly hung it on the wall. That portrait on the wall reminds us that none of us are the perfect parent; to remind us that the best thing my daughter wore that day was her bright, happy smile. My life may not always be organized and put together but it is our beautiful story and it is filled with moments and memories that are special to me.
As parents, we spend a lot of time being hard on ourselves. We have to be honest, parenthood is not easy! There is no instruction manual and we don’t have a boss that sits us down to evaluate our work. Some days after finally getting all the kids to bed, I just sit in the silence and feel overwhelmed, exhausted and sometimes even defeated. Those are tough days but they do exist. Then, there are days when I feel so much joy and happiness that I think my heart might explode! This is the reality of parenthood, sometimes we will feel like rock-star parents and sometimes we will feel like complete failures.
So the next time you miss a doctors appointment or forget to send snacks to school, don’t beat yourself up. Don’t compare yourself to other parents who seem to have it all together because you and I both know that they don’t. Motherhood, fatherhood, parenthood, or any role that involves raising kids is tough! These responsibilities are hard enough without trying to place unreasonable expectations on ourselves. If your children go to bed at night happy and loved then I would say you are doing a pretty good job. Keep up the hard work and remember…
Wrinkly pants didn’t end the world…
They just became part of our world…
And we are okay with that…
