Let’s start this Monday off by encouraging you that you are doing a better job than you believe.
For any mom who had a extremely busy weekend and for whatever reasons you had to miss a family gathering or kid’s activity and dealing with mom guilt, we have all been there at some point in our lives. At least the moms who are honest with themselves will tell you that.
Would you mind if I took a minute to encourage you reminding you of everything you do that nobody else notices day in and day out. All the events you have been too but you want to focus on what you missed. Please stop. We can be our own worst enemies.
We are so hard on ourselves. We really need to do a better job of being mindful of our thoughts. We would never allow anyone to talk themselves the way we talk to ourselves. In order for kids to have a healthy self-image, moms and dads need to teach this by how we live this out in our lives.
Take the pressure off by reminding yourself that you are not perfection is fantasy. Life is hard. Raising a family is hard. There is not such thing as a perfect parent. Even though we know this to be true, we do not allow the same grace we extend to others for ourselves.
Since our kids have been able to walk, I’ve been telling them the only one who will never disappoint them or break a promise is Jesus. As much as we love and adore our kids, we will still fall short. God needs to be the center, not me or their dad. Take the pressure off of you and give it back to God.
This weekend our 13-year-old daughter had a basketball tournament. There was a conflict in our schedules and I couldn’t go. This is not the first game I had to miss either. I hate missing. There is nowhere I would rather be than sitting on the sidelines or in the audience somewhere cheering our kids on. I’m confident you feel the same as me.
Of course the weekend I missed, her team won the championship game. Not only that, my husband said that the last game she played was her best game yet! Even though, we are proud of her no matter what, I was sad I wasn’t able to celebrate with my daughter and the rest of her team. I can dwell on what I missed and make this about me or I can show up by sharing in the bonding our daughter is having with her dad by actively listening to them replay with smiles and laughter all the highlights back to me.
Moms, give yourself some grace. Please do not compare yourself to anyone else and let go of the need to be a super mom. Your kids know you love them. Everything you do is for them. They will be more than ok especially when you surround yourself with supportive people who will fill in the gap for you when you just can’t physically be there.
There is still no replacement for mom or dad, but there is also nothing like a supportive team who understands and has your back! Make sure you have their back too!
