It Begins

I hate the idea of a “Super Mom.” That we, as women, must have a successful career, an organized and beautiful home, serve nutritious home cooked meals and volunteer our time with the PTA, scouts, etc. all while being gorgeous and endlessly patient blah, blah, blah. It is yet another ridiculous standard unto which we hold ourselves. Sure, a few women might be able to manage this, but there are a few women who actually look like supermodels too. For the rest of us, it is just another thing we can’t quite accomplish, and another way to feel not quite good enough.

On the surface I pretend to be Super Mom. I teach a pre-school class at our synagogue once a week, I lead a Girl Scout troop with 20 members. I watch my friend’s son after pre-school twice a week. I cook 95% of our family dinners etc, etc. It sounds like I do a lot and I tend to play that up when I catch up with family and friends. In reality, I am not Super Mom; I am not even a Middle of the Road Mom. I am a Slacker Mom. My house is a mess. We have a huge pile of debt that doesn’t even include a mortgage. Everything is unorganized. We moved a little over a year ago, and we still have boxes waiting to be unpacked. I spend an embarrassing amount of time not doing anything of value. A large chunk of my day is spent on the sofa, on my laptop, playing games or posting on message boards. I often feel like I am useless. I am doing everything at the last minute and am always stressed out. I yell at my kids way more than I should. It is time to fix it. I don’t want to be Super Mom; I just want to be Better Mom.