Confession 1: I fed my two older kids lunchables for dinner and the baby had Cheerios.
Confession 2: Right at the moment I chose to not ask my kids to stop acting crazy for the 50th time in the store today so I could focus on what I needed to buy, someone from church came down the aisle. She saw their "real" and not their "best" behavior and a frazzled Mommy.
Confession 3: I forgot to fix my son's basketball shorts before his game this morning and they almost fell off. However, he also had his best game today, so maybe it helped? ;)
Confession 4: I am typing this while the big kids watch TV and the baby jumps in his jumper because I am just done for the day.
This is what Day 7 of my husband being out of town looks like. Beating myself up about the above mentioned confessions? That is what Mommy Guilt looks like.
In my quest to give others and myself more grace, I decided no more unnecessary Mommy Guilt. So, how do I tackle that issue?
I ask myself these questions:
1. Do my kids know they are loved? Have I hugged them, held them, told them that I loved them today?
2. Are my children genuinely happy and content?
3. Did I spend quality time with them today? (Please note that the this doesn't mean quantity time...we all have responsibilities that have to be taken care of as well)
4. Are my children well taken care of?
5. Have we laughed together today?
6. Did I apologize for any wrong doing on my part?
If I can answer yes to all of these questions on any given day, then we are doing good. Today, we are doing good. So, no more Mommy Guilt (provided we can get through bedtime without incident...ha!)
I encourage you to come up with your own set of questions to tackle your guilt. Every family is unique and my questions may not work in your situation.
I also pray regularly that God will help me differentiate between what is silly guilt and what is his prodding to change an area of my life. My general rule of thumb: if it is something that I would tell a friend not to feel guilty over, then I probably shouldn't either.
So as I end this, I smile, because the freedom found in Christ is amazing and because it's almost bedtime for the kids. Not going to lie, bedtime is very much welcomed today and I will not feel guilty about that. :)
Confession 2: Right at the moment I chose to not ask my kids to stop acting crazy for the 50th time in the store today so I could focus on what I needed to buy, someone from church came down the aisle. She saw their "real" and not their "best" behavior and a frazzled Mommy.
Confession 3: I forgot to fix my son's basketball shorts before his game this morning and they almost fell off. However, he also had his best game today, so maybe it helped? ;)
Confession 4: I am typing this while the big kids watch TV and the baby jumps in his jumper because I am just done for the day.
This is what Day 7 of my husband being out of town looks like. Beating myself up about the above mentioned confessions? That is what Mommy Guilt looks like.
In my quest to give others and myself more grace, I decided no more unnecessary Mommy Guilt. So, how do I tackle that issue?
I ask myself these questions:
1. Do my kids know they are loved? Have I hugged them, held them, told them that I loved them today?
2. Are my children genuinely happy and content?
3. Did I spend quality time with them today? (Please note that the this doesn't mean quantity time...we all have responsibilities that have to be taken care of as well)
4. Are my children well taken care of?
5. Have we laughed together today?
6. Did I apologize for any wrong doing on my part?
If I can answer yes to all of these questions on any given day, then we are doing good. Today, we are doing good. So, no more Mommy Guilt (provided we can get through bedtime without incident...ha!)
I encourage you to come up with your own set of questions to tackle your guilt. Every family is unique and my questions may not work in your situation.
I also pray regularly that God will help me differentiate between what is silly guilt and what is his prodding to change an area of my life. My general rule of thumb: if it is something that I would tell a friend not to feel guilty over, then I probably shouldn't either.
So as I end this, I smile, because the freedom found in Christ is amazing and because it's almost bedtime for the kids. Not going to lie, bedtime is very much welcomed today and I will not feel guilty about that. :)
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