There are a lot of things in life that can be done “good enough”.
Cupcakes with crooked tops? Definitely good enough. A work project that you know no one will ever read? Good enough.
But, one of the things that we don’t dare admit can be done “good enough” is mothering.
We have to be perfect, don’t we? Or, at least we have to try. We can’t admit that we’re only doing a good enough job or we’ll be shunned by all the other mothers in the world (we think). And, admitting that we’re all struggling with certain parts of motherhood would apparently cause the world to implode.
When I was a young mom, a friend-of-a-friend had a beautifully decorated home that she kept spotless. Everything in her life was organized and done perfectly. And, then she had a baby. This poor, dear woman had to be institutionalized for a time because she tried to keep perfection up and it just wasn’t possible. The tiny, screaming being that she took home to her perfect house brought mess and chaos and all kinds of other less than perfect things. As a woman, she had kidded herself that achieving something close to perfection was possible. As a mother, there was no way she could keep up the charade. And, it freaked her out and made her feel like a complete failure.
Nowadays, our access to the internet doesn’t help. Every day articles and posts are shoved in our faces about moms who grow their own organic produce and turn it into baby food in their kitchens. Or, moms who cook everything from scratch while running a business and keeping up a clean, decorated home. It’s enough to make any mom feel NOT “good enough”!
But, Mama, I guarantee you, those organic, super-powered moms have holes in their mothering skills. Because, we all do. Every single one of us.
I didn’t use cloth diapers and I bought whatever baby food was on sale, but oh how my kids and I laughed. We had inside jokes and silly traditions. And, I turned every lame holiday (and a few made up ones) into a special celebration. That and other reasons made me a good enough mom.
My daughter does feed her kids organic foods and limits their sugar. But, she can’t be bothered to bathe them every day and they often wear their pajamas for 24 hours at a time. Her kids are kind, fun-loving and adventurous because she has found a way to let go of perfection and simply be a good enough mom.
Maybe some of you eat cereal for dinner in front of the TV on the nights your favorite show is on. Or, your kids wear the same outfit for days because you hate doing laundry. Guess what, that’s good enough.
You can’t be a perfect mother no matter how hard you try (and no matter what the internet tells you). So, while it may sound weird and just a bit wrong, I’m here to say that motherhood is one of those things in life that really can be done “good enough”.
Besides, our kids have a perfect Father already and that is definitely “good enough”.
