The Good Mom

In my head I have all these ideas of what makes a good mom. Some I learned from my mom, others I came up with from seeing other moms, some from what society says makes a good mom, and others from who knows where.

What makes a good mom, at least in my little head?

• feed the hooligans
• drive them to school
• help with homework
• provide clean clothes
• bake cookies
• do fun crafts and other exciting activities
• make Halloween costumes
• happily teach throughout life
• read scriptures together
• say family prayers
• hot breakfast on the table each day
• cute notes in your lunch box
• make pajamas for Christmas
• play games
• good nutritious dinner on the table
• calm in the face of disasters
• patient in all things
• puts everyone to bed on time with hugs and songs
• has endless ideas to teach and nurture
• makes sure teeth are all brushed and clean
• kids are neat and clean
• teach about the world
• attend all meetings and activities
• be on the PTA
• serve as room mom
• help with field trips
• posts on the blog regularly
• takes a shower each day
• has clean walls, with no sharks on them
• maintains a spotless house
  

My list could go on and on and on. Unfortunately, I seem to be lacking in many of these qualities. However, I don't feel like I am the bad mom either. My kids seem happy. Dirty, but happy. We have fun. We teach and learn from each other every day. They smile, even if they do have fur on their teeth.

What have I learned from being a mom? We are all different and good moms in our own way. Those qualities that may seem to make us a good mom, don't necessarily make it so. We do the best we can with what we have. If I try to be everything I think makes me a good mom, I will never sleep and will not be a good mom. I can't do and be everything all the time. Doing things to say they are done isn't the point. My hooligans don't have a checklist for what makes me a good mom, only I do. The priority is not the stuff or great things, but the time and the quality.

I am far from perfect, but I love my hooligans and I do the best I can for them. Hopefully, in the end, they will think I was a pretty nifty mom. They will remember that I tried to be a good mom. There will be no doubt that they are loved. Wrestling on the floor and eating brownies for lunch are far more important that many of the "important" things in life. My house may not be perfect, but it is a home. And a loving home and family far outweigh being the good mom in my head.

I can now check playing with the hooligans, good dinner, somewhat clean and dressed for church, and blogging off that list, for today. Now to do the dishes. Oh, wait, my fabulous husband took care of that while I edited his paper. Life is good.