To all the Moms out there who are struggling to find that balance of taking care of your children and yourself… I feel you.
To all the Moms who are desperately trying to rediscover themselves as an individual and as a Mother… I see you.
To all the Moms who constantly compare yourself to other Moms and think quietly to themselves, “Wow, I am not even close to having my ish together like they do” … I hear you.
To all the Moms who constantly feel as though they are falling short of the picture perfect vision of a Mom they once thought they would be… I AM you.
Thankfully, the other day, my little girl spun me into an attitude check – though she didn’t even realize it. At that moment, I was feeling a little less of myself, I may not have showered in a couple days and I was likely on day 28 in a row of rocking the messy bun. I was getting Harleigh ready for school and I asked, “How would you like your hair today, sweet girl?” Her response (coming from the girl who would throw a fit if I tried to put her hair in a pony tail), “I want mine just like yours Mommy.” Dumbfounded, I looked into the mirror at the chaos of a bun I had tossed my hair into and asked, “Are you sure you want yours like mine?” She said, “Yes, just like it… I love your ‘Mommy’ hair.”
It was then that I thought, why am I putting so much pressure on myself to be the perfect image of a Mom when in my little girl’s eyes, I am already perfect?
These kiddos, these little humans that are the most important thing in the world to us, love and admire us Moms… exactly the way we are. To them, we are their heros — Every. Single. Day.
They don’t care that our voice may be way off key every time we try to channel our inner Disney Princess and sing at the top of our lungs. Instead, they hear the words to their favorite song of all time and light up at the opportunity to sing and dance along with us, smiling their biggest smiles as they looks into our eyes.
They don’t care that every time we try to get all crafty and attempt to make something cool, it should be photographed and captioned with the hashtag #pinterestfail. What they see is someone spending quality time with them, having a blast while those “Easiest Cake Pops Ever” melt off the sticks and turn to delicious blobs of sugar.
They don’t care that we don’t have the time, money or skill to make gourmet meals every night. Instead, when they eat their ‘less than chef’ status dinners, they are ecstatic because they are fed and their tummies are full of foods they love.
They don’t care that we still haven’t lost that extra 10 lbs we’ve been hanging onto for quite some time now. They are completely judgment free when they hugs us and there’s a little extra padding where there used to be muscle. They always seem to find the perfect spot to snuggle up to our imperfect bodies as we read their favorite bedtime stories.
They don’t care that we’ve worn leggings everyday this week and haven’t done our hair in what seems like months. Instead, they see their Mom… their hero… someone who is always there for them, no matter what.
It’s so easy to get caught up in an image you feel that you need to be, especially with how effortless it is to compare ourselves to others with today’s social media channels. There are so many Moms out there who appear to have it all together… all the time. We are quick to feel as though we are falling short of the Mom we are expected to be.
In reality, we already are exactly who our children need us to be. We ought to listen to the tiny, sweet voices sincerely telling us, time and time again, “You are the best Mom.” Their voices may be small, but they are powerful. Their voices are really the only ones that matter.
So, even though I may not be perfect in the eyes of everyone else out there… to my little girls, I am perfect… I am enough. And so are you — Every. Single. Day.
– Mama of Roses –