Mommy Guilt

"We compare ourselves to some imaginary mom who only feeds organic food to her children, never loses her temper, has craft time each afternoon and who’s home is always perfectly in order. I’ve never met this person, and if you know her please don’t introduce me.

What’s interesting to me, is that often the situations that leave us feeling the guiltiest aren’t remembered by our children...

...So, here’s my parenting advice: let go of the guilt, love your kids, lean on God..."

- An excerpt from Dealing With Mommy Guilt by Melissa Brotherton on her Self-Titled blog

What Will They Say?

"...if Abraham Lincoln was right, I’ve got a lot more than dishes and toilets to live up to.

"All that I am, or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother," Honest Abe said.

So I wonder: what will my sons say about me someday?

Will they call me an angel?

Or will they ask the angels why they got stuck with me?

Will they say I helped them be who they hoped to be?

Or will they just hope they don’t resemble me?

- An excerpt from The Non-Profit Trepidation of Mother's Day by Amy Sorrells on her Self-Titled blog (be sure to go read the rest of this fabulous post)

Role Models

"Parents can tell but never teach, unless they practice what they preach."

- Arnold Glasow

Allowing Our Children To Be Who God Made Them To Be

"Why do I want my child to be like everyone else? Why am I so uncomfortable with imperfection? And comfortable with conformity?

At the same time, I want her to be herself. As she grows, to stand firm in truth, to withstand the strong current of worldliness that will fight to whisk her away.

One day, I will marvel at her strength and will when she makes a good decision and leads rather than follows.

How can I want both?

God forgive me for wanting to squeeze her into a box. She doesn't fit. Help me to embrace her strong will as a strength, not a weakness.

You created her in your image.

And she is mine."

- An excerpt from Embracing the Strong-Will of My Child by Kristen on her blog We Are THAT Family