Confessions of an Imperfect Mother

Mom guilt is tough, y’all.

I think most of us have had it.

You know…

….that first day of school when everyone else has these cutsie little chalkboards with curly handwriting on it that says the age, date, and “what-I-want-to-be-when-I-grow-up” and all that stuff on it when you are all like, crap, was I supposed to take a picture? (after your kid is on the bus of course. Not to mention the fact that your kid is on the BUS with a bunch of other heathens instead of you sacrificing three hours of your time to drop them off in the car rider line…)

…or when you go have lunch with your kid at school–and your kid is eating the PB&J, Cheetos, and Twinkie you packed for them while the kid across the table has this neatly packed lunch with perfectly cut cheese slices and every food group except the “rarely eat from this section” represented.

I feel your pain.

I’ve been there. I’m there pretty much every day.

(and by the way — if you’re an expert chalkboard writing/car rider line/pack AMAZING lunches for your kids momma… GOOD JOB!!! Seriously. You rock, Momma! There is no shame in doing awesome things for your kids!)

Here’s the thing I’m learning: Those moms? Who look like they have it ALL together?

They don’t.

Not really anyway.

I’d venture to guess if we asked them, they would have a VERY LONG LIST of all the places where they feel like they fall short, and it would be around the same size list as the rest of us. It just might be in different areas.

So, in a moment of honesty here, I’m gonna give you a peek at THIS (pointing to myself) imperfect mother.

(and one more thing: feel free to insert whatever title here — because this doesn’t apply just to moms. Imperfect dad/grandparent/<<insert chose career here>> — none of us are perfect. Not a one!)

Confession #1: At least once a month, I have to grab clothes out of the dirty hamper to put on a kid because I’m behind on laundry. I use the smell test. (and if it’s iffy, a couple minutes in the dryer with a nice-smelling-dryer-sheet helps.)

Confession #2: We have pizza once a week for dinner because it’s easy and I need a think-free-night. And there isn’t a veggie in sight unless you count the tomato sauce as a vegetable (which I do because it makes me feel better…)

Confession #3: I’m REALLY REALLY excited if my bathrooms get cleaned once a month. Except when important company comes over, which is company that does not include close family members. (Sorry Mom and Dad.)

Confession #4: I refuse to let my kids in the bathroom while I pee or take a shower. I know so many moms complain of no privacy for their bathroom tasks. BUT I CRAVE MY BATHROOM TIME, y’all. I have a lock and I use it all. the. time. And if I REALLY want silence I’ll lock both my bedroom AND my bathroom door so I can barely hear the banging since there are two doors and a whole room in between me and the begging-for-me-to-tell-them-what-is-for-dinner child.

Confession #5: I have slightly over-exaggerated my answer to the doctor when they ask how many servings of fruits and vegetables my kids have daily. I will say, God has convicted me of this in recent years. I now just say, “Not as many as they should. Sue me.” The doctor usually laughs and tells me to keep trying. They get it. Most of them anyway. If they don’t, then find a new doctor with a sense of humor.

Confession #6: As I was typing this, I looked over into the kitchen and found my youngest preparing this lovely bowl of food (yogurt and sliced American cheese…) for a snack all by herself. And now she’s eating it. I don’t know if this makes me imperfect or not but it was quite funny so I wanted to include it. #lifeistooshort #atleastsheiseating #formergtubebaby (she just told her big sister that she made stew….)

Confession #7: Sometimes I say the BOTH of the “S” words as well as the “D” word… and don’t apologize for it. (Stupid, shut-up, and dumb…. in case you are wondering)

Confession #8: I think I turned in like 1 or 2 reading/homework logs for my kindergartner last year out of the … what 40-ish weeks of school? We read books… most of the time… I just never remembered to send the logs back in. So thankful that K is more a pass/fail kind of thing than a letter grade!

Confession #9: I. hate. ironing. So much so that I don’t do it. (Hello — dryer for 10 minutes with a damp towel….) A few years ago, one of my daughters found the ironing board stuffed in a closet and asked what it was for. Then, because I never used it, I decided to sell it at a garage sale. Last year, my almost 16-year-old asked for an iron/ironing board for her birthday ’cause she was tired of wrinkly clothes. My sister got her one for Christmas. A month later, I found my old ironing board back behind some junk in my closet. Evidently, I hadn’t sold it….

Confession #10: I’ve seriously contemplated starting an anti-foody blog showing all the non-beautiful creations of my meals that I make because I am most definitely not a prolific cook. Here is a sample of what it would look like, complete with the “distressed” kitchen table (which is popular… right? No matter that it is just this way from me scrubbing at it for years to get stuck-on food off…. finger-paint off…. crayon off… non-washable-permanent-marker off….)

Okay, so there are a few of MY confessions. I’m not proud of them. Many of them I’m actively working on improving. (especially the dirty-laundry one. It’s been OVER A MONTH since someone has had to wear dirty clothes to school. This is a huge accomplishment!)

But hey, if I was perfect, I’d have zero room for improvement. AND I’d have zero need for God.

It is safe to say I will always be able to improve and will continue to need God desperately.

Let’s Chat!

Do you have some “honest” moments to confess? I find that sharing our imperfect moments and laughing at them with each other helps to let us know that we aren’t alone!

It’s a safe place here.

I promise. (Cause I have this fabulous thing called the POWER-TO-DELETE-MEAN-PEOPLE-COMMENTS. WHOOP!)

(and remember! All blog and newsletter subscribers as of 10/1/17 will be entered to WIN my super-fun-giveaway. Details here!)