Several years ago I was with a friend who seemed to have it all together. She had a beautifully clean house, kids who excelled in school and were always perfectly dressed, and on top of that, she even had her own business. In contrast, my house is consistently a mess and my kids struggle in school. I won’t even get into how they dress and the constant build up of laundry. For a long time, I compared myself and had a major case of mom guilt for what I perceived as coming up short.
Moms are really good at a lot of things. Unfortunately, one of the things we’re especially good at is feeling guilty! We can feel guilty about what we do, what we don’t do, and what other people (our children) do. Like I said, we’ve got this guilt thing down pat. Well, this year, give the guilt a rest with the mom version of I won’t feel guilty for…
- Not cooking enough
- Not wearing makeup
- Forgetting someone’s birthday
- Forgetting to schedule doctor appointments
- Forgetting a child’s practice, game, or homework
- Getting a late charge on a bill
- Getting my kids to school late
- Not scrapbooking
- Not making my bed
- Leaving dishes in the sink
- Having a messy house
- Obsessing about cleaning
- Not sending a thank you note
- Not going to every birthday party
- Not ironing
- Saying no in order to create downtime
- Leaving housework undone to spend time with my kids
- Not looking like a supermodel
- Not sending Christmas cards
- Not being all things to all people
- Not being able to afford extras for my kids
- Working full time
- Having to put my kids in daycare
- Occasionally using the TV as a babysitter
- Occasionally using the computer as a babysitter
- Not volunteering enough
- Eating sweets
- Not having a perfectly quiet, quiet time
- Running out of milk, bread, or whatever
- Mistakes in my past
- PMS
- Eating fast food
- Feeding my kids fast food
- Being a single mom
- Turning off the phone
- Ignoring the doorbell
- Having a headache
- Not keeping up with the laundry
- Occasionally doing nothing
- Looking like a mom
- Accidentally saying the wrong thing
- Disciplining my child
- Not being able to give my children everything they want or need
- Gray roots and unmanicured nails
- Checking up on my teens (it’s not spying – it’s protecting)
- Enforcing rules
- Being the “only mom” that makes her kids _____
- Making my kids do chores
- Expecting my children to have good manners
- Turning off the TV
- Making my kids go to church
Tell us! What is one thing you have felt guilty about that you need to let go of?
