One of the biggest struggles for me as a working mom is getting past the image of ‘super mom’ that we feel pressure to achieve. Most of the stress I feel about my work/life harmony is with things I am not doing on the home front.
So I am just going to throw it out on the table, admit a few things that I feel I am not doing well. So here goes…
Why I am an imperfect mom:
- My three-year old makes semi-regular trips down the hall at 2am to crawl into bed with me and my husband. Everything I read says this is not a good thing, we are not teaching her good sleep habits, she is interrupting our sleep etc. I’ve read that with some strict persistence, she will stop after a few nights or weeks of us saying no. But I am just too tired to battle her. She’s had bad sleep habits since she was born, and at this point I am counting on the physical exhaustion of her teen years to get her to stay in her own bed.
- My kids do not eat as well as they could. Thank goodness for the great pre-school they go to that serves them a well-balanced meal each day. I work in some fruit and veggies hear and there, but I know they eat too much pizza and chicken nuggets.
- I don’t know that I’ve given them the opportunity to participate in all of the sports/activities that they should. They are only 5 and 3, but every time I talk to another mom, I learn of yet another activity that my kids aren’t involved in. Maybe my daughter is going to miss her opportunity to be a world famous dancer because she didn’t start when she was born??? Will my son miss out on his chance to be a starter on the high school soccer team because I didn’t sign him up last season??? Who knows what all they are missing out on.
So these are a few of the things that keep me up at night. There are more, but I can only confess to so much at once. It feels good to admit my failings. Or better yet, to consider that maybe these aren't so bad anyway.
