This is a topic near and dear to my heart these days, and a
theme that thankfully seems to just recently be getting some attention!
As my daughter gets older and my interactions with other Moms becomes more and
more frequent, I am noticing a common trend. Mom's, who are pretty much
all fighting similar battles, are in constant competition against each other to
have the most perfect children, or to be the most perfect parent.
Let me make something perfectly clear… These things do not exist, so please stop
pretending they do! All that is
accomplished by pretending that everything is perfect is either, 1. That people don’t believe a word you say, or
2. You make those around you feel completely inadequate. Either way, it’s not going to make you more
popular, or more liked as a human being.
Best case scenario, people look at you like you are some kind of parenting
God and then watch and wait for your inevitable crash and burn. Oh and by the way… the higher up you are on
that horse, the harder the fall, just saying.
So why is it that we can’t just be honest with ourselves,
and honest with each other? Being a
parent is by far the hardest thing on the planet that I have ever done, and
those of you who know me well, know that I have held a whole host of difficult
jobs over the years, including wrangling 1,500+ volunteers who are comprised of
more than 50% retired men. Don’t get me
wrong… I’d continue to choose it every single
day of the year vs. the alternative. Anyone
who’s ever even crossed paths with the word “Infertility” would feel the same. But maybe instead of constantly judging each
other for our mistakes, we can find a way to support each other regardless of
our flawed parenting and wild children.
I found inspiration for this blog post of all places, on Facebook,
where most of these parenting sins of perfection and vanity are prominently
displayed for all to see. This however,
was not in my day to day feed, but part of a parenting group where the admin is
super involved, and helps us all to keep things above the cuff. Way to go “Real Mom’s of the South Shore” for
setting a great example to all of us Mom’s out there who are the acting example
to our kids. Anyhow, one mom in
particular put up a post of her ‘Mom-fession.’
I am including it for you below so you can see too. Essentially what she asked was for all of us
Mom’s out there to do the same… and be honest with our mom-confessions. What followed her photo, was the most fascinating,
and hysterical list of responses I could have ever imagined!
We all do it every day.
The things we would never advertise or announce… but the things we feel
compelled to do in order to keep life moving forward do exist in reality. Don’t be afraid to show your weaknesses as a
parent. We all have weaknesses as human
beings, and as parents… as husbands,
wives, sisters, friends… but finding the
courage to embrace your weaknesses, take ownership of them and support each
other in the long run, helps us all to be better people, and to set better
examples for the little people in our lives that we love.
I have asked a few of my friends and family to help me in my
quest to share some good old fashioned Mom-fessions. Thanks ladies for your courage and
willingness to put yourself out there! Please
feel free to comment with your own as well, or share with a girl friend who you
know could use a little light hearted fun in her day.
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| Me... and double confession, I took this in the bathroom stall at work! |
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| The photo that inspired this blog! |
