I realized tonight after the kids were asleep in bed, that I didn’t look the kids in the eye’s more than a handful of times today. I was so busy with housework, work work, fixing meals, and doing laundry that I didn’t slow down to take a moment and give the kids much one on one attention. I played ‘roll around until you get dizzy’ on the floor with Madelyn for about 10 minutes while we were visiting my mother’s house, but that was about it. I kept Sebastian busy by giving him craft ideas all day. I debated with myself whether or not to write this post for fear of sounding like an awful mom but the point of this post is what is important and is for myself to accept and share the fact that I am not a perfect mom and probably never will be. I think moms are too hard on themselves and shouldn’t strive to be perfect or assume that the moms on the street are perfect. I love my kids to death and I thank God for them all of the time, but sometimes I have so much on my mind that I am on auto-pilot and forget that I am the mother of two beautiful children that need my attention more than the dirty dishes or laundry do. The latter will get along just fine without me!
I have two wonderful kids who need me and just want me to be their mom. No matter how much work, cleaning, or laundry I have to do I can’t let those things take priority over being a mom to my kids. When the kids are older, they will appreciate the attention I give them more than the attention I give the dishes or the laundry.. I guarantee it!
Today was a little out of the ordinary for us as we are doing some major spring cleaning at the house and I was very focused on getting things done which resulted in me not spending much time with the kids. I feel like I don’t spend enough time playing with the kids, but I have read a lot of articles lately that say that parents play with their kids too much which is unfortunately what got Sebastian thinking of us more as playmates than parents in the first place. Because of the 6 years Sebastian had us to himself and we played with him all of the time, I feel guilty if I don’t play with him every day. I am going to get to bed now and will hopefully wake up refreshed and ready to play, work, and clean. And be a mom.
I think we all have this type of guilt quite often. We can’t forget we are moms, but we can get caught up in the activities surrounding being a mom. The cleaning, cooking, feeding, etc. We can get sidetracked by all of the mundane things that go into being a mom that we forget to pay attention to the people who made us a mom. We are only human. But you are right. Those hugs, kisses and extra minutes taken away from the laundry do make all the difference. When my son wakes up from nap time, I’ll be on the floor playing with him and his trains.