Perfect Little Boxes

There is no way to be a perfect mother,

and a million ways to be a good one.

~ Jill Churchill

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Happy Mother's Day to all you moms out there.  I know, I'm late.  However, I am typing this in leopard print and my sandals with heels, so does that at least make me fashionably late?  Ugh, bad joke.  

Last year, I wrote about lessons learned from my mom.  I love my mom with all of my being, however I know that I'm not much like her.  I look like her and I do have some of her mannerisms, but I definitely took after dad mostly.  So, there was a bit of tongue-in-cheek humor with that post.  This year, I'm going to go a bit of a different direction, so hang with me here. 

The recent cover of Time magazine showing the mom with what appears to be a grown child on a stool so he can breast feed has blown up all over the blogosphere, particularly the mommy blog world.  In fact, I'm somewhat getting tired of hearing about it.  Some obvious genius editor took a photo to a new level to portray a story and I for one say bravo!  It's likely going to sell a lot of magazines.  Enough said.  Shiny object no more.  Let's move along now folks.  

What this did cause me to spend time thinking about, and right before mother's day, is this incessant need we have as moms to fit ourselves into this perfect little box and wrap it all up with a very fancy bow.  I've also realized this is singlehandedly the reason I started this blog filled with my stories about my endless pursuit for mom of the year.  I'm not on a pursuit for perfection.  I'm not endlessly trying to be something I'm not.  I recognize that in myself so for those of you who thought this blog was really about my pursuit for a non-existent trophy, this is the point you feel that overwhelming disappointment.  Sorry.  

I do know that I am certainly not perfect when it comes to motherhood.  I even appreciate the way I'm teaching my girls to realize that being a mom isn't about perfection.  Somestimes good enough really is good enough.  (gasp)  However, I find myself slightly bitter at people, or employers, or magazine articles...anything...that presents itself as a perfect little box.  As mothers don't we beat ourselves up enough?  I know I certainly don't need one more thing forcing me to question if I made the right decision or did I do things correctly.  Therefore, I'm saying that it's time we begin tearing apart these tiny little boxes.  Let's don't compare each other anymore.  Who cares if your kid isn't potty trained or doesn't dress themselves.  Who cares if you work or you don't.  Who cares if you're a helicopter parent or not.  One thing I think we can all agree on, is we made the decision that was right for us at the time we were forced to make it.  End...of...story. 

The older I get, the more I surround myself with people who accept me just the way I am.  I've come to find I absolutely treasure these people in my life and value their friendship.  You've heard more than one story about my endless pursuit for mom of the year.  Most of all, I love the way we can laugh at each other.  These moments with you are absolutely priceless and I may not tell you enough how much I appreciate them. 

So, to all you moms out there, I hope you had an amazing Mother's Day. I hope your children pampered you and treated you with all the love and respect you deserve.  And I also hope you spent some time clearing your life of little boxes.  Besides, I've never much liked those very fancy bows.