#7 Nobody's Perfect

I was thinking about the pressure put on today's mothers to be perfect and reflecting on the great quote our professor posted on her blog here . Lately, due to the increased number of friends and people I know getting married and having babies, I've been thinking about what kind of mother I will be--and frankly, it has been scaring the hell out of me. As a Type A perfectionist, it scares me thinking that basically, being a mom consists of learning on the job--and inevitable mistakes. What if I can't get my baby to stop crying? What if I mess up on the position my baby should be sleeping? What if I get impatient and yell? What if I let her/him get hurt? What if I make too many mistakes and just am not cut out to be a mom???

The quote on Professor Palko's blog calmed me down a bit; "blowing it as a mother every once in a while doesn't spell disaster for your kids' psyche. It just doesn't."

Popular MOTHERLOAD blog and Top 100 Mommyblogs author, Amy Wilson,  also made me feel better with her most recent post (see link above). Her little girl came into her room in the middle of the night wanting something to drink. Amy, being overtired, exasperatedly yelled at her to go back to bed, at which case, her daughter promptly ran to the bathroom and threw up. Later, Amy apologized to her daughter for yelling, and was properly chastised by the little girl for "not being nice."  *Sigh of relief*..One mistake every once in a while does not spell doom for your child, and it even seems that it can be some type of learning experience for both of you.

Although I have not totally quieted the anxiety in my heart about being a mother (and I doubt I ever will completely squash my perfectionist tendencies) it has reassured me to know that I cannot be expected to never make a mistake as a mother. It just does not happen. Nobody is perfect. Even Mom.