note to self

"I cannot admit this out loud.  In the first place, we are expected to be supermoms these days, instead of admitting that we have flaws.  It is tempting to belive that all mothers wake up feeling fresh every morning, never raise their voices, only cook with organic food, and are equally at ease with the CEO and the PTA..

Here's a secret: These mother's don't exist. 

Most of us--even if we'd never confess--are suffering through the raisin bran in the hopes of a glimpse of that magic ring.

Real mothers wonder why experts who write for Parents and Good Housekeeping--and dare I say it, the Burlington Free Press--seem to have their acts together all the time when they themselves can barely keep their heads above the stormy seas of parenthood.

Real mothers don't just listen with humble embarassment to the elderly lady who offers unsolicited advice  in the checkout line when a child is throwing a tantrum.  We take the child, dump him in the lady's cart, and say, "Great, maybe YOU can do a better job."

Real mothers know that it's okay to eat cold pizza for breakfast.
Real mothers admit it is easier to fail at this job than to succeed.

If parenting is the box of raisin bran, then real mothers know the ratio of flakes to fun is severely imbalanced.  For every moment that your child confides in you, or tell you he loves you, or does something unprompted to protect his brother or sister that you happen to witness, there are many more moments of chaos, error and self-doubt. 

Real mothers may not speak the heresy, but they sometimes secretly wish they'd chosen something for breakfast other than this endless cereal.

Real mothers worry that other mothers will find that magic ring, whereas they'll be looking for ages.

Rest easy, real mothers. 

The very fact that you worry about being a good mom means that you already are one."

(Jodi Piccoult-House Rules)