Decisions, Decisions, and How to Conquer Mom Guilt

         I am not a "bad mom" for deciding NOT to make my kids pancakes before daycare today. I am NOT a bad mom for choosing to put away laundry so I can maybe sometimes find weather-appropriate clothes, or choosing to sweep the floor because its been a while, and we have guests tonight. 

        I am not a "bad mom" for waking them up at the same time on commute-downtown days and work-from-home days, so that I can have a little bit of quiet time. I am NOT a bad mom for all those decisions and more, and neither are you. 

        There are only 24 hours in each day, 1440 minutes, and we need to decide over and over which task to do next, out of an impossible list of "shoulds". When we choose to clean, and when we don't, when we scroll for 2 hours (oops did I really just do that?!), when we choose to get down on the floor and play, or park them in front of the TV and take time away, that doesn't make us "bad" or wrong. In fact, worrying that we're bad moms is one of the biggest indicators that we're actually good moms! 

        So as I sit here writing this post, after first catching up on the night's Facebook notifications... As I sit here deciding how to spend the next 5 minutes, knowing that I'll get caught up in this task or that, and be late/frazzled/frustrated no matter what I choose... here's the point. The TL:DR (isn't it awesome that we can admit posts are "too long, didn't read"? But I digress...)

        So back to the point - How do we conquer mom guilt? We tell ourselves, and each other, over and over as often as needed, you're not a bad mom, it's okay to choose the "easy" option, and the kids are gonna be just fine. 

Pancakes or waffles?
 Either way, they'll eat.

        Let me repeat in bullet points so these magic words stand out in our heads. Feel free to write them down on a notepad, or on a receipt, or on an envelope from some junk mail, and tape it to the fridge, or to your phone cause that's where it'll for sure be seen 🤣) because even the act of writing helps memories last... (#Science)

How to Conquer Mom Guilt?

This is the secret. Repeat this mantra - loudly, softly, and often, to yourself and to others:

• You are NOT a bad mom
• It's okay to choose the "easy" option 
• The kids are gonna be just fine

That's it. No strings attached, because we moms wear so many hats, juggle so many tasks, and have so much on our plates, that we really have no room for any more mountains of red tape or hoops to jump through. Did I mix enough metaphors? Lol I'll stop.

Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk, and may the peace of faith in yourself lift some of that burden you're carrying. You are not alone. You are enough. You are loved.

Xoxo,

Mama Gali