I recently read a blog post from a Mother which was
BRILLIANT! It was called, “Why you’re
never failing as a mother.” Thank you
Amy Morrison. I feel better. I needed you to tell me that. I needed someone to tell me that. Read for yourself. (But only after you are
done reading mine ;)
It is easy to feel like you are failing as a mother if you
don’t feed them the right food, put them in the right pre-school, and/or
discipline the right way. But the truth
of the matter is who is to say you are doing it wrong? We are all new to parenting. We are all figuring it out as we go
along. No one person is right and no one
person is wrong. We as parents have to
do what is best for us. If it feels
wrong to you, then change it. But, if it
feels right, it probably is.
Recently, I started to feel like I was disciplining the
wrong way. If I wasn’t consistent, if I
didn’t PICK the right battles…was I failing?
Am I failing? Ahhh, someone please tell me I’m not. Well,
Miss Amy Morrison told me I’m not. She
told me so.
BUT, I still wasn’t so sure.
My 3 ½ year old isn’t listening well.
She is testing boundaries and being defiant at times. It is exhausting. But, I have to figure it out. I have to do what is best for her and for
me. Sometimes I ask friends for help and
I get blank stares. And sometimes I get
great advice. They are tips. They help.
Am I on the right path?? It seems
so. Because if I trust my instincts, I
can’t be failing…right? I hope not.
But, I was thinking about it this morning as I was on my
hands and knees wiping the crusty eggs off the kitchen floor. I
thought about a few things that made me feel better. I thought about 5 things that made me feel
better.
1.
Forgive yourself. I’ve said this before and I stand by it. If I don’t bring seaweed in for a snack at
school, am I failing? If you give your
kids Tostitos for a snack, it is ok.
There is always time to make healthier dishes. Sometimes it is just easy to give them what
they want and what makes them happy. Forgive
yourself for it and move on. There is
always time to improve. No matter what
we do, forgive yourself for it. It is
all ok.
2.
Listen to your kids. They think you are doing a job. This morning I asked my 3 ½ year old daughter
if I was a good mom. She smiled at me
and shook her head, yes. I said, “Why?”
and she said because you give me lots of puffins. Nice.
Ok, I’ll take it.
3.
Trust your instincts. I know I have to trust mine more. I have to look within more and not
without. I get blank stares sometimes
because maybe they don’t know what to tell me.
Maybe I shouldn’t ask as much.
Maybe I should just DO what I
think is best!
4.
Do your best.
Maybe I’m slacking a bit (as I type away and look over at my girls who
have their eyes glued to Dora) but, after I post this, I will sit and do
letters and shapes with them. I feel
better when I’m doing better with them.
I feel bad when I ignore. The
best times that we have are when I’m teaching and they are learning. But down-time is needed as well!!!!
Amen Sisters.
5.
Shower with love. You cannot be failing if your kids are well
loved. Lots of hugs and kisses will make
up for something else that you feel like you are lacking in. If your kids feel loved and are happy, there
is no such thing as FAIL! For that I am
sure.
Here’s the thing.
Everyone has different strengths and weaknesses. We, as mothers, need to play up on our
strengths and try to improve those weaknesses.
2013 is our YEAR! So,
as Amy Morrison said,
“Chin up. Hang in
there. And remember, you're doing a great job.”
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