There are times since I've had my son that I just do stupid things. (oh fine, I always did stupid things, but never before was I accountable for permanently damaging another person with said stupid things).
The time I was doing laundry and heard my barely-two-year-old wake up from his nap screaming and thought, eh, he can wait 'til I finish loading the dryer... only to find him still screaming and panic-stricken a couple minutes later and somehow OUT of his crib. His poor little head still has an odd shape on the top...
Slide that one into the BAD MOMMY file.
So most of the time it isn't all that bad. Most of the time it's stuff we all do on occasion like grab the camera and take pictures of our children playing in the toilet instead of relocating them immediately.
The point is, every day is bound to bring on one sort of guilt trip or another, be it something minor and non-life-threatening or something that makes you wonder if your kids would be better off if you traded them for a fish bowl or a cactus. I don't think I'm alone here, but I'm tired of that naggy crappy feeling in the back of my head about myself and my parenting skills.
Instead of dwelling on those "files" in my head, I'm putting them here. Yes, I know I already do that, but this is more. This is brutal honesty. Naked humility. Guilt... stripped. I'm going to try and be consistent with this on a weekly basis, as per the name. It probably won't run on any particular day, but I have no doubt that there's enough guilt lingering in the cheerios stuck to the bottom of my kitchen table to write a weeklynewsletter post and unload myself of that towering pile of guilt.
Anyone care to join me? Put in the comments section or write your ownnewsletter post!
The time I was doing laundry and heard my barely-two-year-old wake up from his nap screaming and thought, eh, he can wait 'til I finish loading the dryer... only to find him still screaming and panic-stricken a couple minutes later and somehow OUT of his crib. His poor little head still has an odd shape on the top...
Slide that one into the BAD MOMMY file.
So most of the time it isn't all that bad. Most of the time it's stuff we all do on occasion like grab the camera and take pictures of our children playing in the toilet instead of relocating them immediately.
The point is, every day is bound to bring on one sort of guilt trip or another, be it something minor and non-life-threatening or something that makes you wonder if your kids would be better off if you traded them for a fish bowl or a cactus. I don't think I'm alone here, but I'm tired of that naggy crappy feeling in the back of my head about myself and my parenting skills.
Instead of dwelling on those "files" in my head, I'm putting them here. Yes, I know I already do that, but this is more. This is brutal honesty. Naked humility. Guilt... stripped. I'm going to try and be consistent with this on a weekly basis, as per the name. It probably won't run on any particular day, but I have no doubt that there's enough guilt lingering in the cheerios stuck to the bottom of my kitchen table to write a weekly
Anyone care to join me? Put in the comments section or write your own
12 comments:
What a fabulous idea..but don't be too hard on yourself. I still have trouble with cleaning my house and taking care of a dog!
Have you seen my "BAD Mommy" and "Bad Mommy Part II" ? I might have you beat in this department. My children are insatiable creatures requiring non stop attention...
Great idea. I have bad mommy moments all the time, but I'm not sure I could ever alleviate the guilt.
I'm not sure I have the guts to own up to them all. But... I will consider it.
Good stories. It really does help to laugh at other people's goof ups and know I'm not alone.
This is very healthy... free yourself from the guilt and you'll be lighter!
Oh I love the idea. Bad me, I gave the wee ones Cheerios with coconut mixed in for breakfast because I wasn't up for making a *real* breakfast. And I decided that waffles with syrup just wasn't healthy enough. And I make Little Miss drink her soy milk even though she sometimes gags on it.
I'm not a mom but you know I have a time with my sister's kids. Remember me strapping my nephew to a chair with a belt so I could feed him? Last weekend he wasn't at my house for 5 min b4 he fell face 1st on the floor and busted his lip. It's great that I can use my sister's kids as guinea pigs. I'll be a pro for my own. I think Monsoon is lucky to have a mama with a sense of humor :)
I'm way past the "bad mommy years" or I'd join in. I am still patting myself on the back having successfully raised my son to teenagerhood without any serious damage.
Lol! I'm the same way with the kids I nanny for....what? you're eating dirt? Wait, let me grab the camera!
Hmmmmmm...I might have too many to chronicle here. What about the time I forgot to pick the 6-year-old up at the rec center? Or, here's another one...what about the time the 7-year-old got whacked in the jaw with a golf club and I told here "it'll be OK," delaying the trip to the ER by several hours? Turns out she had a broken jaw...
Has he walked around church on Easter singing "99 bottle of beer on the wall?"
If so, let's start a Bad Mommies Anonymous!!
Oh no! Maybe I shouldn't have opened this post. Hubby is ready for kids and I think I won't know what to do. Everyone says "you'll just know. It will come naturally" but ummm yeah, I'm thinking that's a lie.
However, I do always love those deer-in-the-headlights-caught-in-the-toilet pictures! haha
Happy SITS Saturday Sharefest
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