You're not a bad mom

I recently got together with some friends for a play date. While our kids ran around outside we sat in the shade and swapped stories about parenthood. I love hearing about the antics of other people's kids, it helps me feel normal when my kids do seemingly odd and often infuriating things. Pretty soon the kids were milling around looking for a snack. I hadn't brought anything because I am anti-snack, but one of the ladies had brought a sack full of oranges and a knife and a plate to slice them with. Talk about forethought! Not only a healthy snack but also all the tools necessary to deliver it in a kid-friendly form. While the kids were grabbing orange slices and making cute little orange smiles, her youngest son got into her bag and pulled out a whole orange and the knife. He sat down and proceeded to saw away on the orange in an attempt to cut a few slices for himself. Now, in case you haven't had the fine opportunity to see a toddler with a knife, let me paint the picture for you. There is something terrifying about seeing a sweet, small person with a knife that always looks gigantic in that chubby little hand. He could have gotten a hold of a paring knife and it would look like he was wielding a machete. When she noticed the knife in his hand she exclaimed "I'm a bad mom!"
Just like that all her efforts to provide a fun and social experience for her kids and to nourish their bodies with good food all went down the drain. Because her son had almost hurt himself, she was a bad mom.
I wrote this post to reassure her, myself, and pretty much every mom ever that you are not a bad mom. To me, being a mom means trying really hard to do my best and asking for forgiveness when I mess up. Whenever I'm getting down on myself about not being a good mom, I try to think of what I really want from my mom. I don't want her to protect me from everything or do everything for me, mostly I just want her to look at me and listen to my ideas and laugh and cry with me when I need her. I think we all know how important it is to be a good parent and I believe that all parents love their children and want to provide for them. So the next time the thought "I'm a bad mom" springs to mind, counter it by thinking of all the things you do big and small everyday that make you a great mom because there are plenty.