You know those little thoughts that sound nice. They seem useful.
They disguise themselves as a thought we “should” have. ⠀⠀
Thoughts like:
I want to be a good Mom.
I want my kids to grow up to be happy & successful.
I want to do my best.
I want to help them.
I just want everyone to be happy.
But here’s what I have found: “The road to Hell is paved with good intentions.” ⠀
I wanted to be a “good” mom so badly that I lost focus on what that really means. ⠀⠀
I had good intentions. I wanted to give my kids the very best. I thought being a good mom meant perfection. It meant never yelling, & always making sure they were happy and that I was always happy around them.
What happens when I did yell, though? ⠀⠀
What happens when they weren’t happy? ⠀
What happens when I wasn’t happy?⠀
It meant I failed. It meant I would never be a good mom. It meant inner hate and feeling shame and failure, and it meant living my own little Hell. ⠀⠀
But what if we weren’t meant to do it all right as parents for our kids to have the life they were supposed to have? ⠀
What if our kids are meant to feel sad, mad, bored, disappointed, depressed, overwhelmed sometimes? ⠀⠀
What if they were meant to mess up sometimes and make bad decisions? ⠀⠀
What happens if our interpretation of them being successful is all wrong? ⠀
What if we are supposed to just be us and they are supposed to just be them, and we are all just supposed to be human, flawed, mistakes, feeling negative emotions and all? ⠀
What if that’s what creates our perfect us & our perfect life.
Then maybe just maybe nothing has gone wrong here.
Maybe I can relax, take a deep breath, and enjoy my life, my kids, more fully.
Now that sounds refreshing!
“What if life isn’t happening to you… What if life is happening for you?” –Rachel Hollis
XOXOXO
Heather
