Ryan and Juliet

To be the perfect mom…

We must ensure our children eat enough fruit and vegetables. They must always say please and thank you. They must share well, eat well, play nice, excel in math and science, and draw like da Vinci. They must take scheduled naps for at least one hour. After 12 months, we must stop them from drinking from a bottle and cut off the tips of the pacifiers to avoid temptation of giving them back. We should calculate their calorie intake and all food must be homemade or of 100% natural ingredients. No TV until they’re age two, and then only two hours per day. We must read to them n hours a day. They must stay ahead of the curve in all things including the alphabet, numbers, reading, writing, vocabulary, addition, subtraction, conjugation, and quantum mechanics. We must give them proper amounts of love and attention but encourage independent thinking and problem solving. We must keep up to date with their milestone charts, and read on how to raise a happy child and solve behavioral problems. Temper tantrums in the stores and checkout lines is an absolute no, no. And lastly, NO JUMPING ON THE BED!

Stop. Think. Is that ridiculous? All at once it sounds crazy, but when separated over time most of these are true. By no means do I mean to disparage any mother for surely I am among you. A mother will do all that is in her power to meet these expectations and ensure our children grow up to live happy, successful, fruitful lives. As such, we worry incessantly about whether or not we are doing the right thing. We have big worries and small worries. We wonder about the impacts of decisions we make or just what life has handed us. We wonder and we worry and we do all that we can. And at the end of the day, we pray for peace of mind, we love more than our hearts and minds can take, and we say “what the hell, have a donut”.