Happy Mother’s Day to The Perfect Mom

I am The Perfect Mom.

Yeah, right.

In the words of a famous fellow Texan: If you believe that, then I’ve got some ocean front property in Arizona that I’d like to sell to you.

May is when we celebrate the military spouse, and it’s also Mother’s Day. I, like many military spouses, have held many titles in my life. I’ve been a carhop, radio DJ, teacher, reporter, wife, cook, event coordinator, fundraiser, and the list goes on and on, but my most important job is being a mom.

I see all these blogs about how to be a good parent.

Some say that, “You have to say this to your kids.”

Some say, “Never say this to your kids.”

Some say that you must do this or do that to be a good parent.

It’s all very overwhelming and I usually feel like a bad parent after reading those things. I sometimes feel like I’m making it up as I go. Some things worked yesterday that may not work for today. Some things we did when they were younger have changed, but I do my best each day.

I believe that we need to stop judging each other as parents and start supporting more. 

I was at the store in the middle of the night once, getting something that my kids needed for school the next day. There was a lady in the medicine aisle with two young kids, one was asleep in her arms and the other was screaming in the cart. I could see people staring at her and judging her for being in the store in the middle of the night with two young kids.

I’ve been in her shoes before.

I walked over to her and said, “Which child is sick?” She looked surprised. She told me the little one had been teething and she ran out of medicine. She said she was exhausted and couldn’t find it anywhere on the shelf. We walked together and found it. She turned to me and said, “Thank you so much.” She went on to tell me that she felt like the worst mom ever for not realizing that she was out of the medicine. She said she felt like everyone was judging her for having a screaming kid in the store at midnight. She was crying and going on and on about how she was so exhausted and on her own.

I looked at her and said, “You’re the perfect mom.”

She seemed so shocked.

Being a mom is hard.  This mom was being The Perfect Mom at that time because she was doing what she had to do to take care of her kids. We aren’t perfect all the time, but I believe that we all have our Perfect Mom moments, and we should celebrate those.

I’ve been a stay at home mom and a working mom—both are hard and each comes with its own challenges.

I’ve been the mom who sent her kid to school in two different shoes (yep, he wore two left shoes to school).

I’ve been the mom who organized the grade level events.

I’ve been the mom who served cereal for dinner, and we sat on the couch to eat it.

I was the mom who sanitized everything (that was with the first child only). After the first child, I strongly believed in developing my child’s immune system by not sanitizing everything. Yeah right, let’s be realistic—it’s harder when you’re outnumbered by children.

I’ve argued with my children.

I’ve admitted that I was wrong when I made a mistake.

I pray. I cry. I smile. I laugh. I cheer. I worry. I get frustrated. I get exhausted.

I am touched. I am inspired.

Some days, I feel like the worst mom ever, but I live for the little Perfect Mom moments.

The other night, my 8 year old asked me to lay next to him as he fell asleep. I haven’t done that in years, but I was so thankful that he wanted me to do that.

Today, my 10 year old got an award at school. I loved the look of joy on her face when she saw that I was able to make it to see her get the award. After she got her award, she ran over to me and threw her arms around me.

These are some of my Perfect Mom moments.

My kids don’t have the newest toys, newest clothes, or latest electronics, but they have me and they know that.

So, here’s to you on this Mother’s Day. I hope you find a way to celebrate your Perfect Mom moments.

I hope you find a way to forgive yourself for your Not-So-Perfect Mom moments.

I hope you can find a way to help other moms so we can all be there to support each other.

If you love the kids in your life, then you are The Perfect Mom.

If you do all you can to make sure that they are safe and healthy, then you are The Perfect Mom.

If you question yourself frequently, then you are The Perfect Mom.

I’m sure that I am not the world’s definition of The Perfect Mom, but to my children, I am The Perfect Mom, and that is what matters to me.

Happy Mother’s Day to the working moms, the stay-at-home moms, the PTO moms, the military moms, the volunteer moms, the breastfeeding moms, the bottle feeding moms, the workout moms, the cereal for dinner moms, the sports moms, the adopted moms, the dishes-stacked-in-the-sink moms, the perfectly-manicured-nails moms, the yoga-pants-every-day moms, the homeschooling moms, the public school moms, the single moms, and to all the Perfect Moms” out there.

Oh, and to my own mom—thanks for everything.

Share one of your Perfect Mom”moments with us in the comments below!