This is part of a sponsored collaboration with Minute Maid and DiMe Media. Minute Maid will provide this prize. Minute Maid is not a sponsor, administrator or connected in any other way with the contest – and all opinions are my own.
Parenting is not for the weak of heart nor is it for everyone. In my 25 years of being a mom, I have been through it all. Those wonderful first years when your kids are little and they are so cute and perfect. Then they begin to get older and soon you have these terrible teens who can barely stand you and vice versa. The proud moments in between where they do these things that amaze you and make you wonder how in the world they are yours. Then there are the moments when they make these terrible decisions that you wonder what in the world you did to fail them so much that they would make such a bad decision. There is so much doubt in parenting...I truly don't think there is anyone who thinks that they are the perfect parent.
When my girls where little I worked so much. They had a father who has always been absent and a mom who worked her behind off so that they could have a good life, but no time to spend with them. How we made it through those years of 12+ work hours with them being in the most delicate stages of their life I still don't know. There are a lot of people who have judged my actions along the way, who were always there to talk about what I was doing wrong, but who were not there to help. But without their help and without ever asking for a hand or handout, we made it through. Sometimes it got a little sketchy and I wondered if we were going to make it through in one piece, but we did. Even with all those naysayers just yapping and judging away...we did it. And that's what my point here today is, you're doing better than you think.
Parenting is not easy, but if you choose to be a parent who is present in their child's life, and you struggle with those kids on a day-to-day basis, then you are doing good. Sure, you're not going to be perfect, no one is. Things will not always go as planned, they rarely ever do. And there will be days that you won't know if you can go on, but you will. Parenting is not for weak people...and that's why so many run away from the responsibilities, but you are not weak. Even on your worst day as parent...I guarantee you are doing better than you think.
I am not the best mom, far from it, but I am a good mom. When I look at my girls together laughing, watching their kids, going to work, I know I did good. And now with little Sammy another chance to be better mom, and believe me, I am still failing on the daily. But if your child can smile, laugh and enjoy life the way my baby girl can...then you are doing good!!!
These days, the demands and pressures of everyday life are very high. Keeping up with a job, a home and everything else that goes on in life can leave parents feeling imperfect - like they can’t be the mom or dad they want to be. But the truth is, most parents are doing much better than they think. Check out this new video from my friends at Minute Maid. Share it with the friends and family in your life who could use a reminder that they, too, are doing a great job as a parent.
Tell me about someone you know who is doing a better job as a parent than he/she might think.
Post a comment/short story for a chance to win a Minute Maid prize pack, including a $50 Visa gift card to continue “Doin’ Good” with your kids (or give it to someone you think could use it to keep Doin Good with her/his family).
