I have pictures of a child in a laundry hamper. I am so damn proud of that picture. Not because it shows what an awesome mom I am, but because it shows that at one time, in this very house, all of my laundry was done!
Forget that somehow, my child, who was not even two, climbed her way into the hamper, risking falling head first, developing a concussion, brain swelling, and possible death. My. Laundry. Was. Done.
My friend Jodi wrote an awesome blog post today – go read it, right now. http://www.multitaskingmommy.com/ It’s phenomenal.
It’s about Mommy guilt, and the things we all feel guilty over. And you know you do. You can’t be a mommy and not have guilt. It’s right there on page one of the as yet to be written book “What to REALLY Expect When You Become A Mom”. It’s not written yet, because if us Moms really spoke out and told pregnant women what they were in for, they’d be looking to invent a time machine, kick those husbands out of bed to root through the dresser drawer for that last condom he thought he had in there, but that’s okay, he’ll get more tomorrow.
You can’t be a mommy and not feel like you’re doing something wrong, even if everything is turning out alright. You’re always doing too much, too little, not enough like your mom, too much like your mom. It’s never going to be perfect.
And that’s why we have guilt.
I love the way Jodi ended her essay. It wasn’t with “You’ll Get Over It” – because the truth is, you NEVER get over it. Not when your baby is 9 months old or 19 years old. You learn to live with it. You learn to get out of bed every morning in spite of the fact that you’re going to do something wrong.
And it all turns out okay.