Mom, You’re Not Failing

On the day I became a mother, I not only gave birth to a beautiful baby boy, I birthed a monster of an emotion best known as GUILT. We all want to be great moms and give our children the very best of ourselves. Unfortunately, at some point we end up feeling some FAILURE along the way.

I’ve been doing some writing exercises lately and the other day I was prompted to write 500-1000 words reflecting on a failure I have experienced recently. I thought to myself long and hard trying to find a good topic to write about. A ton of ideas and topics flowed in and I couldn’t help myself from thinking “what haven’t I failed at lately?!”

Okay, so I know I haven’t truly “FAILED” at anything lately but I think it’s easy to feel this way as a young mother. Haven’t you felt that way from time to time?!

• On the weeks I feel successful in business, I feel like I failed at spending enough time with my child.
• On the weeks I spent quality time with my child, I left the house a wreck.
• On the weeks I had an immaculate home, I failed to spend enough time on my business.
• On the weeks I took good care of my family, I failed to take care of myself. 

And so the cycle goes…

Everything we juggle and try to balance eventually falls. What goes up must come down.

DAMN GRAVITY I GUESS! 😉

The important part is to pick up the pieces and get back to it. We become better jugglers by letting go of perfectionism, reducing our load and remembering to focus most on what truly matters. For me and probably for most of you, that is FAMILY.

It’s not realistic to think we can be perfect moms. Although these days the media makes it seem as though we should be. I honestly believe our children are much better off learning from our little failures and imperfections. Sometimes the imperfect makes for perfectly beautiful memories.

     I may be interrupted 10 20 times while writing this post.

     I may be moving at a snail’s pace on my business this week.

     I may have a sick kid… again. 

     I may have floors that haven’t seen a mop in weeks months.

     I may have a list longer than this house with things (I’d like) to do.

FAILING? Surely not! 

I’m just a mom! A completely blessed mom! We are happy, healthy and enjoying time together and that is what truly matters.

I know these are the best days, filled with incredibly sweet moments and perfect little failures. I try my best to mentally absorb all of the little imperfections day-to-day because I know one day these will be the big memories.

As it turns out, WE ARE NOT FAILING. 

We are just moms. Crazy-busy, tired, blessed moms! 

Happy Mother’s Day!

-Lauren

 

P.S. Wanted to share this inspiring blog post if you are interested in more mom encouragement!

READ THIS: “Dear mom who feels like she is failing” – Finding Joy