Moms come in many forms. I happen to be a single mom, a stay at home mom, a work from home mom, an autism mom, and so much more. Honestly I don’t care what kind of mom you are, because we are all equally great, and we all rock!
No matter what your day looks like as a mom, one thing we all know is that it is one TOUGH job. There are days that you know you completely rocked and others that are not so fantastic, to say the least. There are moments when I just nailed it and thought that someone was going to drop down from the sky and present me with some type of award. Because clearly I deserved it!
On the flip side there have been moments where I have questioned whether someone was checked out mentally when they gave the go ahead for this to happen in my life. Okay so that is a bit extreme, but you get my point and I know for a fact that you can relate.
It is an amazing job that comes with many challenges, yet so rewarding in so many ways. If you had a rough day, maybe you didn’t feel so rewarded, but we know that soon a small moment will sneak in to make your heart melt, and get your head back in the game.
As moms we far too often get caught up in getting everything right, but here’s the truth ladies . . . It’s never going to happen! Something will come up, change the outcome of a situation, and you are going to mess up. Yes I said it, you are going to mess up, and that’s okay.
We can’t have all the answers and the perfect amount of patience or determination every time we step into the ring, or in our case, every day. We get far too caught up in comparing ourselves and our children to others based on small snapshots we see on social media. Stop that now . . . seriously! The best thing about being a mom is that we can wing it and we don’t have to be perfect.
We also don’t need to compete! We need to encourage one another instead, and present an honest picture of what challenges come our way in life.
If we spend all of our time trying to create this perfect bubble for our children to live in, we are only damaging them. If our kids don’t have a mom that makes mistakes and can openly apologize or admit that they forgot, just can’t that day, or need to work on their patience at times, our children are going to expect the same of themselves.
I don’t know about you but I have become pretty well acquainted with the curveballs life can throw. As much as I don’t want to think it, life is going to be no different for my kids. They are going to face challenges and struggle and are going to need to dig deep. They are going to need to know its okay to cry and how hard they may have to try to face some of life’s wild pitches. Just remember that those times of struggle are going to bring them the most personal growth, just as it does for you.
Trying to be a perfect mom is just a waste of time. Trust me that when your kids are older they will have been better off having had a mom that at times was . . . well a little bit of a mess. What they need is a mom who is a little chaotic, forgetful, imperfect, honest, and loving.
If today you managed to get your kids through target without any tears or buying any cake pops, here’s to you!
If you spent a small portion of your day in the closet hiding and crying during a much needed mommy time out, here’s to you!
No matter what side of the fence you were on today, or perhaps you were on both, just know that you, MOM, are doing just fine!
Now stop reading this and go back to what you have to do because we all know it’s likely that someone might be crying.
By Jessica Nieminski
Jessica joins aspergers101 team of writers as a single mother of two extraordinary children who believes that all children deserve the love and acceptance that they give out. Follow Jessica in the Family section of aspergers101 and share in her personal stories as she will cry and laugh her way through life. Jessica blogs regularly on her site, My Extraordinary Child, a place where parenting is discussed, tears and sarcasm come to meet, and differences are celebrated. “Unless the world stops limiting opportunities for people of all abilities, I never will. Join me on a journey of tears, laughter, and courage”. -Jessica Nieminski