Being the Mother You Aim to Be
I think when it comes to motherhood we all have goals as to what sort of mother we want to be. We all have goals as to how we want to raise our children, what we want their diets to consist of and the things that we want them to learn and play with (and not learn and play with).
Motherhood is a constant task of trying to achieve your ultimate goal of being the best mother you can be.
As a natural minded mama, I have a million goals; some of them that I conquer each day and some that I fail at or am currently working on. Whether natural minded, crunchy as hell, semi crunchy or not the least bit crunchy, I'm sure the same goes for us all; we all have measures that we are trying to attain as a mother. We all wear that cape that reads "Supermom" and we all try to hold up to the title.
What are the measures or goals for you? What are the things that you want to try and instill in your children or what are some ways in which you envision raising them?
Perhaps you want an all or semi organic diet.
Perhaps you want to breastfeed for as long as possible.
Perhaps you want to use natural medicines and remedies as much as possible.
Perhaps you want to limit television time and ban tablets and electronic usage in your home.
Perhaps you want to have a small selection of toys.
Perhaps you want to recycle and clean naturally.
Perhaps you want to raise a tantrum free toddler (does that exist?).
Perhaps you want daily story time, prayer time and learning time.
Perhaps you just want your kid to nail the phrase "please."
Perhaps you want to cook healthier.
Or perhaps you just want to cook at all.
Perhaps, none of the above is even important to you. And that's okay too.
We set goals for ourselves as mothers, as parents, to raise the most compassionate, educated and empathetic children that we can. We want to raise good kids, and the rest of the above is just the cherries on top to an already good thing.
I'm learning as a go about motherhood that goals are ever changing and that some are harder than others. I'm learning that as I set out on a natural minded journey that I'm far from perfect. I have days where I eat the worst crap ever, days were I use disposables more than cloth for sake of avoiding a load of laundry and days where I may have turned the TV on far more than I'd like to admit (hello end of pregnancy). Sometimes we get off of our course and that's okay. Life happens, or in my case...your pelvis feels like it is about to fall out every time you move.
Whether your goals are natural minded like mine or just regular "supermom" goals like the rest of us all, the good thing is that we all have goals. Setting a bar and setting goals helps us to be the mother and person we want to be. Life gets in the way sometimes and at the end of the day, we are ALL still doing the best we can. Perfection is impossible to achieve.
Impossible.
I look forward to a burst of energy and being able to be more "mobile" soon and having new inspiration after Little Fox is born. I know I'm doing a good job now, but like many, we can fall into a sleepy slump and look forward to an awakening.
Motherhood isn't a competition with anyone but yourself. Never worry or envy what another does or how they live, just be the best you that you can be. And when you fall into a slump covered with reruns of "The Voice" and late night cookies and milk - then just take in the moment (and the peace and quiet). We sometimes need a break from aiming to be perfect.
You're doing a pretty good job, Mama and you're as perfect as you can be in the eyes of your child.
There is no perfect mother other than the mother that you are to your child. I think we all deserve to realize we are doing the best we can, with what we have and with how we know. And realizing that there is always room to grow.
Share your goals in the comments below!