Thursday, February 19, 2009

Give Me A Break

Mommy guilt.

I believe they inject it into all moms at one point or another during the birthing process, perhaps through the epidural line, maybe in some post-labor spiked cranberry juice (or in the innumerable bowls of Fruit Loops I consumed hours after Evelyn arrived into the world), or perhaps through a secret little device in the pen used to sign the adoption papers.

However "they" do it, that Mommy guilt is firmly implanted into the body the instant a woman takes hold of her child.

I am loving the Mommy confessions comments. Kelly--I used to sequester Isaac in front of a Baby Einstein movie when pregnant with Evelyn and in desperate need of some shut-eye. Ginger--I am loving your Nutrigrain breakfast story. Too funny. Ask my children about breakfast picnics sometime. They can totally relate to Gregory and Claire. Kelly S---you will appreciate the fact I have never sent a text in my life. Seriously.

Keep those Mommy confessions coming. I know we all have a whole bunch of "I-let-my-kids-eat-ice-cream-for-breakfast-just-to-hold-off-on-the-tantrums-for-another-few-hours" type stories we are just aching to tell someone.

I think the greatest thing about hearing other mommies relay their weak points is that we feel a bit better about our own weak points. We start to think that maybe we are not doing such a poor job in the parenting department, that perhaps our children might actually make it through adolescence without a stint in juvie or an appearance on Dr. Phil. Lately I have been trying to cut other mommies some slack, attempting not to look down on them when their kid is the holy terror at the park and also attempting not to emulate them because I feel they happen to have it all together at that exact moment. Mainly I have been trying to cut myself some slack, accepting that there will most likely be crumbs in my house round the clock and that there are days when one or both of my children transform into some sort of possessed being and naptime cannot come fast enough.

Any more confessions lingering out there anyone feels the need to divulge? Think of this as a bit of group therapy...

1 comment:

Lisa said...

Okay, here goes my confession.... we put a door knob cover on my almost 4 year old daughter's bedroom door after we found her wondering around the house in the middle of the night turning lights on & off in the hallway. Also she would scare the heck out of me in the morning when she would come in my bedroom to wake me up. Sooooo, now she is basically locked in her room. I hate admitting that, but it gives me peace of mind to know that she is safe in her room & not wondering around the house before I get up in the morning. I have a monitor in her room, so if she needs me she can call, but we also put a potty chair in her room in case she needs to go in the middle of the night or early in the morning (ya know, so she doesn't have to wake ME up - sleep is so precious to me!) Ugh, just confessing this makes me feel so guilty! I'm hoping I am not too much of a weirdo!