How to Be the Perfect Mom

This post is for all those good moms out there – those hard-working, amazing, ordinary moms who beat themselves up and guilt themselves out over not measuring up.

I used to think the perfect mom never yelled. She never lost her temper, never raised her voice. She was always patient and kind. She made cartoon character lunches out of broccoli and baby carrots, and never burned her perfectly-nutritious dinners. Her kids were always perfectly clean, clothed, and coiffed. Every day. She handled every challenge with grace and style. She balanced work and family, housework and homework without breaking a sweat.

But now I know that perfect moms DO yell. They get impatient, they make mistakes. Big ones. Perfect moms forget to send their kids’ lunches to school with them. They run late. They forget things. Lots of things. They work. They stay at home. Perfect moms mess up all the time. But perfect moms try. They try their hardest and do their absolute best.

They show up and they fail and they succeed. Over and over and over. Perfect moms are perfect because they are there and they are real.

The “Perfect Mom” is a myth.

You are a perfect mom.

Amazing, incredible, imperfect you. All your strengths, all your faults, all your quirks. You are the perfect mom for your kids. Because God placed you together on purpose. No one can do your job like you can.

So be the best woman you can be. Be the best mom you can be. Embrace your imperfections. They show you your need for God. They show your kids it’s OK to not be perfect, that they are loveable just as they are.

Learn. Grow. Stretch.

Try. Fail. Succeed.

Keep loving your kids fiercely.

And love yourself just as much.

Take time for yourself, to regroup and recharge so you can give to your kids out of your abundance

Admit your mistakes.

Believe in yourself.

Cut yourself some slack.

Say a little prayer and extend a little grace to your kids and to yourself.

And above all, keep being the perfect mom that God created you to be.

You are enough.