I once had this critical voice in my head that told me I was never doing enough and I was never good enough. I never thought I was a good enough mother or a wife and that drove me to push myself relentlessly until I destroyed my physical health.
I spent years rebuilding it and earning it back.
I missed so many days when I could’ve just enjoyed my family instead of endlessly pushing myself to the edge. I believed that my identity was tied to how perfect I was and how much I was able to accomplish in a day.
– Good mothers bake bread for their family every day.
– Good wives have a clean house all the time.
– Good mothers always prepare homemade, natural foods.
– Good wives are always happy and cheerful when their husbands arrive home.
– Good mothers never get irritable with her children.
These deeply seeded subconscious insecurities were driving my life and actually preventing me from being the mother I wanted to be.
What I didn’t realize is that from the day we are born to the day we die, we are on a journey. There is no perfection! We will enjoy that journey so much more if we stop nitpicking ourselves and realize that our idiosyncrasies and imperfections are part of who we are. Our children can see our mistakes and negative feelings without being destroyed. In fact, they learned so much from watching us struggle.
– They learn how to apologize and forgive.
– They learn that having a bad day is normal.
– They learn how to face and overcome difficult situations.
– They learn to do hard things.
– They learned that to be human, is to err.
– They learn that the road to success is paved with mistakes. And those mistakes do not need to define you.
Your children don’t need a perfect parent. They just want you! Your time. Your love. And yes… your imperfect self.
