Every summer I go through the same thing. I begin to think about the limited number of summers I have with my kids, the limited vacations, limited time to make memories. It eats at me! So this summer I am trying hard to think about all the fun things I did and everything I am grateful for, because you see, no matter how much I do with the kids throughout the summer, it will never be enough to tame that ugly old Mommy Guilt.
This summer my oldest got a part time job. Super proud of her! She learned responsibility, how to save money and budget, and most of all, she got up off her bed! She also clocked in some awesome volunteer hours through our lunch program at church, beef up that college application!
This summer my two youngest accomplished something that many people would just blow past, but for me and in my house, it's big...Independence. This is huge! You see, my youngest daughter doesn't like to do anything by herself. She usually has to have her big sister, me or my husband with her all the time. This summer she went to the amusement park with a friend, she went to the pool with friends and no parents, she had sleepovers and spent large amounts of time away from home, and she scheduled play dates by herself. This is huge! She learned a lot this summer about herself and she has grown personally. And my baby boy, well you see, he's a mama's boy. It's always been me and him, from day 1. And this summer he too has walked himself to friend's houses to play, he uses the phone to call to make plans, he spent evenings with friends playing and having dinner, and he too went to the pool with friends!
This summer may not of included tons of trips to the beach, vacations or day trips, but it included personal growth and sometimes that's more then anything else. So, yes, I still have the Mommy Guilt that I didn't do enough with my kid's this summer and the terrible thought that they didn't have a good summer; but that's not true! My kid's have had a wonderful summer! I couldn't be more proud of who they are and how much they have grown personally this summer.
"In everything, give thanks" - 1 Thessalonians 5:18
If you are sitting here thinking about the summer, and that horrible unfriendly Mommy Guilt is making you sick, push it away. Because you see, it doesn't matter how much time you spend with your kids, or how many activities you did with them over the summer, that darn Mommy Guilt will always be there! Whether you are a SAHM or a full time working mom, we all have it! And the worse is when you are on Social Media, and begin to compare yourself to all your friends. So stop!!! We are all doing our best in this job of mom. We are all doing it differently based on what is best for our kids. Sit and think about your kids, what is best for them and turn that Mommy Guilt into Mommy Gratitude! The more our kids see us being grateful for things, for them, for the time we spend with them (not necessarily doing activities, but with them) the more they will be grateful! Do we really want to raise a generation of kid's who see their mom's stressed out all the time because of Mommy Guilt? A generation that see's this Mommy Guilt and pass it along? I sure don't want my girl's to deal with Mommy Guilt, because each generation gets worse and worse. I want my girls to be grateful for the times they have with their kids. I want them to have Mommy Gratitude!
Now don't get me wrong, this isn't the only form of Mommy Guilt. I could write a blog post each day of the year about all the different forms of Mommy Guilt, I've dealt with them all. But we have to start somewhere! I'm thinking, blog series! Today I start here.
As you think back over summer 2017, what are you grateful for? Share with me your Mommy Gratitude and tell me how you told Mommy Guilt goodbye!
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