As I go through my day, I find myself fighting the feeling of guilt internally, and it can feel like a weight. I feel guilty about so many parts of my day, and I am over it. I am ready to be done with mom guilt.
I feel guilty that my kid’s parties aren’t Pinteresty enough.
I feel guilty when I let my kids watch TV.
I feel guilty for not scheduling enough play dates or fun activities for my kids.
I feel guilty when I get distracted on my phone when I should be doing something else.
I feel guilty when I’m too hard on my child, or when I wasn’t tough enough.
I feel guilty for not spending enough quality time playing with my kids.
I feel guilty that my house could be cleaner and more organized, because– kids.
I feel guilty when I look forward to my kids’ bedtime.
I feel guilty for making my kids peanut butter and jelly for lunch every day.
I even feel guilty for not feeling guilty, like when I eat some of my kid’s candy stash. Shh, don’t tell them.
I spend half of my day feeling guilty. When truly, in many of these situations, there is a flip side with legit reasons for each circumstance.
Plus, I am imperfect. I have to do things in life that take time away from my family like running errands, cleaning the house, or working. And sometimes, I’m tired or I can’t pack everything I need to get done in a day, so I do things to make my life easier. But I don’t have to spend another moment feeling guilty about it. Because at the end of the day, I am trying. Trying to be a good mom. Trying to be a better one.
So, I am determined to change my perspective. Instead of feeling all of this mom guilt that I put on myself, I can choose to feel something else – present. Present for my kids. Present for myself. Present in the moments I let my kids watch TV and present in the moments I am spending quality time with them. Because this is my life as a mom and it’s time to stop feeling guilty about it.