Being The Mom

I was a good mom today.

After I dropped the girls off at school this morning (which I do three mornings a week so we can spend a little more time together), I went by Target and picked up some Secret Santa gifts they needed for their Activity Night Christmas party tonight. Then I went to school and did my thing for four hours. After school I went to Publix and picked up assorted rolls, meats, cheeses and condiments I needed to make the finger sandwiches for 15 people the girls assured their leader I would be happy to make for the aforementioned Christmas party. I came home and made the sandwiches, made lunches for tomorrow, folded three loads of laundry and wrapped the Secret Santa gifts.

The girls couldn't have been more appreciative of my efforts (and I did put in a little extra effort, because I knew they would like it). It's nice to know that they were being completely sincere, because I'm sure it's only a matter of time before they discovering that flattery is a powerful weapon. ;)

I don't get women who beat themselves up over their parenting. Short of being a child abuser or worse, I tend to give most moms the benefit of the doubt and figure that they're doing the best they can on any given day. By that same token, why don't more moms give themsleves a pat on the back when they DO go that extra mile?? Lord knows that there have been many times when I've fallen short of my ideal. But there have been just as many times when I've reached my "Mommy Ideal" for the day and then some!! Is there any reason why I shouldn't find some satisfaction in that?

Nope.

So even though it might not matter to anyone else, I'm going to give myself a little pat on the back for going the extra mile today. It made me feel good to put in a little extra effort (rather than just doing the bare minimum) and it made my girls proud to have ME as their mother. And I'm going to do a better job at noticing the extra efforts put in by other moms out there, because we need all the love we can get.