What a Good Mother Does…

A good mother…

…serves her child water from bpa free cups
…never lets her child drink from plastic
…goes for the Barney set on sale

…speaks gently and does not interfere much
…keeps a close eye and quickly intervenes
…lashes out in anger and regrets her actions

…lives in the moby
…buckles them up in a bouncy seat
…holds them in her arms

…yells too loud
…guides too soft
…crys too often

…makes the world their child’s classroom
…volunteers in the public school classroom
…scrimps to send them to a private school classroom

…eats oreos for breakfast
…lets her children eat oreos for breakfast
…hasn’t touched a brownie in years

…cloth diapers, cloth napkins, cloth pads and cloth toilet papers
…uses paper towels and composts her leftovers
…should be investing in the Ziploc company

…rocks her child to sleep
…says prayers and stories with her child in bed
…snuggles, hugs and kisses goodnight, then lets her child cry it out

…sleeps with her husband only
…sleeps with her husband and children
…doesn’t sleep much at all

…hikes, camps and nature walks with her kids
…teaches her children how to poop in the woods
…doesn’t go off the blacktop path

…gives her child formula from birth
…breastfeeds her 4 yr old
…pumps in the bathroom at work

…can squeeze a penny out of a nickle
…splurges on herself
…hasn’t bought a non-necessity in years

…home cooks
…micro waves
…drives through

…showers, makeup and dressed every day by 8
…wears heels to work
…is in pajamas well past noon

…cries over mommy fears
…worries over decisions
…fights for their future

…has a lot of money
…has no money
…takes good care of the money she’s got

…goes to church
…doesn’t go to church
…feels guilty for not going to church

…makes dollhouses from pixie sticks
…bakes chocolate chip cookies
…drinks mocha frappachinos

…is sometimes too rough with her kids
…is sometimes unavailable to her kids
…is sometimes locked in the bathroom with a pint of ben and jerry’s

…has laundry piled on the living room floor
…vacuums the living room floor
…wrestles with her kids on the floor

…wishes she was thinner
…wishes she was smarter
…wishes for a maid

…takes time for herself
…runs herself ragged
…runs a 5K

…reads with her children
…reads to herself
…is illiterate

…watches oprah
…watches ellen
…watches dora

…buys only wooden toys
…scores garage sales finds and hand-me-downs
…buys the latest and greatest gizmos

…loses her temper
…loses her keys
…loses her friends

…loves with all she’s got
…loves when it’s hard and hurts
…loves until everything that doesn’t matter fades away

Thoughts?


Comments

22 responses to “What a Good Mother Does…”

  1. LISA! I love this. Totally, totally love it. Sharing right away.

    Thank for this.

    1. Thanks for passing it along!

  2. Keara Avatar
    Keara

    I love this!

  3. This is fabulous ๐Ÿ™‚ Here via Sorta Crunchy, BTW.

  4. This is perfect.

  5. sharing this now! totally wonderful!

  6. Emile Avatar
    Emile

    Thank you.

  7. Aww, yes. ๐Ÿ™‚

  8. This is wonderful! I’m such a dork, at first I was thinking it was some kind of quiz….then I realized that it was a statment on reality and that in our own way we are all great mothers, we just have different styles. Thanks so much for posting this. I shared it on my blog. Thanks again!
    Blessings,
    Kristy

  9. I just found your blog and I love it. This post in particular was really touching. We all need to be reminded that we are great mothers even if the way that we mother is different we love our children desperately and do the best we can for them.

  10. Kristy and Bethany – Exactly! So glad you enjoyed the post and thank you for passing it along ๐Ÿ™‚

  11. Wow – this one hit home today. Thank you. I needed this. I’m feeling so off as a mama this past week – nursing strikes, a messy house, long nights, less sleep, busy days, feeling like I’m not doing things the way I hoped I would – – it’s all piling up on me right now. Thank you for the reminder that there is no “right way” to do it.

  12. Love this. I am also going to link to it on my blog!

  13. Karissa, I love hearing that a certain blog post came to you just when you needed it…

    I agree, there really is no “right”way but the way of loving them with all we’ve got.

    When I finally gave myself permission to go inside myself and choose to parent based on my own decisions instead of trying to find out what others were doing and replicate that or living up to ridiculous standards or fit a “parenting style” model, I was simply covered in peace.

    Hope that peace is hitting your heart today too!

  14. Thanks Sarah!

  15. I love all these great little tid-bits! I will certainly be sharing this post with my readers. Have a great weekend!

  16. Love this! Thank you!

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  19. If only we could all love ourselves, and each other more. That’s what these words remind us of. That we are all just doing the best we can. Thanks.

  20. I found this kind of randomly through a link on an acquaintance’s blog and I have to say this is so true! Thanks for sharing!

  21. Dear Lisa,

    When I first starting reading this, I could feel a bit of anxiety creeping in. . . a voice in my head saying saying to myself, “Oh, I bet you don’t do many of the things on this list” and it turns out this post is simply a beautiful love letter to all mothers! Thank you so much!

    Sincerely, Elizabeth Lane

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