The Perfect Mom

[mountain_laurel]

Have you ever made the "right" decision, only to find out it was wrong? Have you ever made the "wrong" decision, only to find out it was the right one? Have you ever been in the situation where you have a decision where you know that no matter what you choose, it will be both wrong and right? Just thinking, as I had one of those decisions earlier this week, and am musing over the rewards and consequences (it wasn't too major, so no worries). I think I did the right thing, but this was one of those decisions where the right thing for me was different than what the right thing for most people would have been. I shouldn't EVER have had to make this decision in the first place, but sometimes, life throws you some surprises. I guess the most important thing in situations like these is to suck it up and move on because no matter what, you will always second guess yourself. So don't dwell over what ifs or guilt. That has been my philosophy since becoming a mother: do the best you can with what resources you have, then don't beat yourself up over the mistakes. I have made mistakes--lots of them. But I think the best thing to do for both my child and for me is to forgive myself and move on. Like when I totally screwed up in the whole breastfeeding department. No one/thing to blame except me, myself, and I. But you know what? All of us moms do the best we can. We can't be perfect, even in a world that sends us subliminal expectations to be so. So what if we choose Path A instead of Path C? All roads lead to Rome (though maybe different sections of the city), and we all do our best to muddle through in an imperfect world with imperfect information.

So I think from now on, I will try to be a supportive mom--supportive of my decisions, others' decisions, and my children, instead of trying to be the perfect mom.