I am not a perfect mother. I am constantly making mistakes, some bigger than others. I have been known to lose my temper from time to time; I often cry tears of frustration when I can’t get my three year old to listen to me; and when I’m overwhelmed and tired, which happens to be most of the time, my patience wears thin.
I often feel inadequate as a mother. When I say this to people, they usually look at me like I’m crazy. I put up a pretty good front, but there are days when I just don’t feel like I am cut out for this. It isn’t easy, and I’ve found that doing it on my own wears me down even more. I love my son dearly, but there are some days that I long for some peace and quiet. I’m often overcome with guilt for feeling like this. We are all told about how being a mother is the most rewarding job in the world, but let’s face it, when you are dealing with temper tantrums day in and day out, you start to question the rewards. It’s ok not to feel overjoyed in mothering every second of every day. It doesn’t mean you are a bad mom, it simply means you are human, just like the rest of us.
Sometimes I think our expectations of ourselves are too high. We reach for perfection, but at one point or another we all fall short. We all have things to work on; that we could be doing just a little bit better. But remember, you don’t have to be a perfect parent; you just have to be the best parent that you can be. There will be days that you want to rip your hair out, but there will also be days when you are overflowing with joy at being a mother. Those are the days that make this journey worth fighting for.