In it together.

My sister has been here visiting from Maine for the past three days. It’s been heavenly. She digs in and helps and does the mundane tasks around the house that need to be done without even being asked. It has truly been a gift. Today I got to sleep in for three hours while she took Liza (my four month old) and brought Summer to preschool. It was bliss!

While she was here spending time with Summer, she drew dots on a paper for Summer to connect and make letters. GENIUS! Summer did it so well and was so proud of herself.  And I was so happy to see her doing something new; but I couldn’t help but beat myself up. Why haven’t I done that with her before? What part of me as a mom was failing her? So as my sister and I chatted on the couch last night, I expressed my guilt and told her I felt like a bad mom. Her response was immediately, “WHAT DO YOU MEAN?? That’s why you have me. It takes a village. Now you know this is something she likes that also helps her learn. It’s all good. You don’t have to think of everything.” In other words, it’s ok….guilt is a useless emotion. I did just have Liza four short months ago. I don’t have the concentrated time to spend with Summer like I once did. I make a point to read to her and spend time with her outside every day. I do lots of creative play and we have dance parties in our kitchen but I haven’t been teaching her how to write. She is three. She’s going to learn. She is a smart kid. I’m doing the best I can.

I just want every mom out there to realize that.  We are all just trying to be the best moms we can be and some days we excel and some days it’s survival mode and we get by on a wing and a prayer. But once my sister explained to me that we are all in this together and we can learn from one another, I definitely breathed a sigh of relief. Hope this helps all you over achieving moms out there to take a step back and realize that we don’t have to put so much pressure on ourselves. We have each other to lean on for a reason. Reach out to your village and know you are not alone.

Be Well, 

LEW