One day recently, while watching my daughter’s swim class, I overheard a woman apologize to a staff member for being late. “I’m so not THAT Mom,” she explained. Well, I have a confession to make: I totally AM That Mom!
I constantly struggle with being on time, especially in the mornings. I wish I was perfectly punctual, but I’m just not. I sleep as late as I can. I procrastinate. And after 5 years, I still underestimate how much longer it takes to get myself and little kids out the door.
Just that morning, we’d rushed to class, tight on time as usual. My daughter’s hair wasn’t even brushed, just pulled into a messy ponytail. She took off her shirt as we ran across the parking lot (already wearing her swim suit – I guess I’ve learned something at least) and we burst through the door just as the instructor called her class – AGAIN! The week before, we showed up an hour late because I was convinced that her 11:30 class, which we’ve had for 2 months, was actually at 12:30.
Yeah, I am That Mom.
The mom who goes through the drive through way too often because I don’t plan ahead to bring lunch with us when we go out. The mom who seems scatterbrained because she’s mentally juggling 14,000 things at once. The mom who has her act (almost) together as long as everything goes as planned (Ha!) Can anyone relate?
But I’m also the mom who snuggles every night with her daughter at bedtime, the mom who sits on the floor to play trains and tea party, and the mom who says “I love you” a bijillion times a day. And when my daughter tells me, “You’re the best mom ever!” I convince myself that there’s more to being a good mom than having your act together all the time.
It’s so easy to compare. Sometimes those comparisons can be against other people, like the woman at swim class. Other times (more often?), they can be against ourselves, as we count all the ways we don’t “measure up” to others. Let’s let go of the comparisons and realize that even “That Mom” is a good mom.
In what ways are you “That Mom?” Do you find yourself making mothering comparisons, either against other moms or against yourself?
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