Sunday Inspiration: Good Enough

Good enough

Happy Mother’s Day to all you mom’s out there.

Now let’s get real. Mother’s Day consists of a tsunami of sentimental expressions of how wonderful and fantastic every mother in the universe is, how much we sacrifice for our family, how loving and giving each of us is, and what goddesses we truly are.

All true. But what is conveniently left out of this grand celebration of maternity is the massive swamp of guilt that always sucks us into the muck of despair. There’s no doubt that mothers (and let’s not forget fathers) have the toughest job on the planet, and that no matter how hard we work at being great, it never seems to be enough. There’s always something left undone or unsaid that leaves us feeling we’ve fallen short of being the best mother we can be.

I ran across an excellent article, How To Deal With Mother’s Guilt, that attacks this pervading disease head on. The author gives 8 personal rules for silencing mother’s guilt, and my favorite is, “Stop judging yourself. Stop comparing yourself to other moms…” Another goody: “Get real. Understand that perfection in parenting is ridiculous.” The rest are thought provoking, as well, so I hope you check them out. Is love really all you need to be a supermom? (I’d have to say a few other things go into that package, but love’s the key in the supermom ignition.)

Today I will proudly wear my supermom cape for all that I’ve accomplished as the mother of four children. But tomorrow I will slip it off and say to myself, “I never was and never will be the perfect mom, but most likely (on my best days) I am good enough.”

How about you?

7 Comments

  1. Joan Leopold on May 14, 2017 at 10:23 am

    My 2 kids say I’ve been a great Mom. What else can they say. I have been told by an employee years ago that he was glad I wasn’t his Mom. Guess I was asking too much of him.
    I do think I failed though since both kids have been divorced. One has remarried and one says never again.
    They both, however, think Chautauqua Lake is the most wonderful place in the world. Many of their happiest days were spent there.

    • Emilie Richards on May 15, 2017 at 10:45 am

      Joan, you’re being too hard on yourself. I suspect your kids know exactly how much your good mothering meant to them, even when they had to make difficult life decisions as adults.

      • Joan Leopold on May 15, 2017 at 12:06 pm

        Thank you so much Emily. I do rejoice in the fact that each of them are successful adults in their chosen professions. It gives us great pleasure to watch them each succeed in this difficult world.

  2. Nancy Lepri on May 14, 2017 at 3:13 pm

    Happy Mother’s Day, Em!!!!

    • Emilie Richards on May 15, 2017 at 10:46 am

      Many thanks. I hope the day was good for you, too.

  3. Joni on May 14, 2017 at 9:55 pm

    My Mom was not a warm touching person- she provided the basics! My husband accuses me of going overboard for everything I never had! I try to not be like my Mother!
    My oldest daughter once told me I flunked mother school (haha)! I think she took her lessons from me!!
    Oh well I tried and my girls are grown, married with families of their own. I must not have done too bad they keep coming back!
    Happy Mothers Day!

    • Emilie Richards on May 15, 2017 at 10:48 am

      Coming back is the best sign of all. Sometimes the best parenting lessons come from parents we don’t want to emulate. We know what to avoid doing ourselves, which sounds like what you did. As for flunking mother school? Bet she was a teenager, right?

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