Mommy Guilt? Does it exist?

Yes and no.

Yes, we all have days we feel we aren’t at the top of our “mommy game”. Days where the sink falls in the cabinet and leaks at the same time you are trying to watch your daughter practice ballet for the tenth time (that was my Friday). Days where you arrive fifteen minutes late to everything. Days were you forget that it is “pajama day” at daycare and your kiddie is the only one wearing regular clothes. Days where dinner is more like breakfast (we have all had “cereal night”, right?). Days where “mommy guilt” creeps up . . .

Mommy guilt does exist, but more in a “there’s a monster under my bed” type of way. It’s all in our minds. Here’s a little unknown fact about moms: we only have two hands. Why do we feel guilty when we can’t cook supper, replace a missing gem on a tiara, complete our tax return, coach soccer, prepare a work presentation, and make it to a play date on time? We can’t get it “all done” because it is simply impossible. We set ourselves up for failure and feel guilty when we don’t succeed.

This week I encourage all of us to succeed in different way…in having fun. Have a day where you don’t even try to do it all. Forget the dishes and play Candyland. Wear PJ’s in the afternoon. Make your child a handmade card on your lunch break and surprise them with it at pickup. Celebrate your children and toss your “to do” list. Certainly, we can’t do this ALL the time (wouldn’t that be wonderful!). I’m just advocating our right to take a day “off” and enjoy the chaos (the beautiful chaos) around us. Instead of feeling guilt, embrace the imperfect and laugh with your children over the mishaps of the day. Imagine their faces when you ask them to play with YOU! What a treat, what a blessing, what a way to look “mommy guilt” in the face and conquer it!

Mommy guilt will happen and you will feel overwhelmed at times because being a mother is tough. We deal with stinky diapers, stomach bugs, food allergies, temper tantrums, sibling arguments, work deadlines, meetings after meetings, and so much more. Motherhood IS fabulous, but it isn’t always glamorous (who can look glamorous while running to a sick child in the middle of the night with one eye open and jumping over toys?). We shouldn’t feel guilty because we can’t make a princess castle out of a crayon and a straw . . . we aren’t MacGyver, we’re moms!

Mommy guilt or no mommy guilt. To do list or no to do list, our children think we are super heroes. They believe somewhere in our closets hangs a cape. Our children believe we CAN do everything and all at once, so they push us to try. They are our biggest cheerleaders and the guilt we feel about having a rough day is something they simply don’t understand or feel.

All they feel is that cereal for dinner is pretty cool . . .