I was going to be the perfect mother. You know the loving, patient, caring, understanding, giving, selfless mother with the happy smiling kids you see posted all over social media? I was gonna be one of them. And then I became a mom.
As soon as my first child was born fatigue and sleep deprivation set in. From the very beginning I wasn't the calm energetic version of myself I had envisioned. It was real life. Shortly after I learned that the stamina of a toddler easily overtakes that of a healthy young adult. As kids grow they learn to challenge, and challenge they did especially during my most vulnerable moments. All that was while they were still very young.
Now as they are getting older they are developing individual needs that are rapidly changing. Surprisingly I'm not as quick at picking up on their cues as the times I observed and judged moms with their teens in social settings.
Basically I felt like I was failing at motherhood. My kids have their fair share of tantrums and I'm not always perfectly poised in my response, if ever. My vision of my perfect family wasn't happening. It's therefor that I'm grateful that I came across this true quote by Jill Churchill - "There is no way to be a perfect mother and a million ways to be a good one."
I put too much emphasis on being the perfect mother and when that failed I felt betrayed and stopped living. Children are a blessing but can also be a challenge and there really is no perfect way of navigating this challenge. Our kids are here to make us grow and dealing with them is a constant reminder to better ourselves. As long as we are trying we are being a good mother.
I feel empowered.
Enjoy the free printable of the quote.
Mother Quote 5"x 7" Download Colored
I printed this on a sticker sheet and attached it to a cardstock since my home printer doesn't feed thicker sheets. It looks perfect.
Sticker Sheets
I used this simple fiskars cutter to cut prints to size.
Paper cutter
Blima
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