The beauty of nine months of pregnancy is that you have a lot of time to think about what kind of mom you will be. The curse of nine months of pregnancy is that you have a lot of time to think about what kind of mom you will be. Face it: we all do it; we all set up these visions of perfect motherhood in our minds that we will never be able to achieve.
The perfect mom has June Cleaver's house, Jennifer Lopez' mom bod, and Angelina Jolie's hot partner. Note the three different women, one of them fictional, on that list? This life does not exist for one woman!
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Motherhood is hard enough without the stress we put on ourselves to be good at everything. Here are a few of the things I advise you cut from your very long "to-do" list ... I promise it won't hurt:
1. Cleaning the house. I don't mean that you should NEVER clean the house. I mean using the toothbrush on the baseboards is just a waste of time you could spend playing Mouse Trap on the (slightly messy) living room floor with the kids. A little clutter never hurt anyone. Heck, they even say dirt is good for kids!
2. Making dinner. Ever notice the number of moms who groan on Facebook that they just don't know what to make for dinner tonight? Here's an idea: don't do it. Let everyone eat cereal or sandwiches or call for a pizza. The world will not stop turning because you didn't slave over a hot stove one night (but you may have more time for catching fireflies).
3. Working out. Again, I'm not saying you sit on the couch like a sloth. But if you're on a quest for the perfect body, let me stop you right there. It doesn't exist. Everyone's body is different, and post-kids, most of us have stretch marks and a belly pooch. Provided your doctor says you're healthy, it's OK to skip a workout (or three) because you're just too pooped to even poop.
4. Folding laundry. Run the washer. Run the dryer. Who cares if they got their clean clothes out of a dresser or off the pile in the laundry room?
5. Organized. You know what happens when you leave the bathroom drawer full of random hair ties, toothbrushes, and medicines? Nothing.
6. Fundraising for the PTO. Write a check at the beginning of the year and be done with it. No reason to feel like crap while guilting your family into buying more cookie dough.
8. Apologizing for wanting alone time. Who says good moms need to spend every waking moment with their kids? WHO?
9. Saying yes to everything. So your daughter's Girl Scout leader needs you to chaperone a trip on the same weekend as your son's soccer tournament? Let me explain how this one goes. It starts with an "n" and ends in an "o."
Moms, what did you feel guilty about that you've finally given up?
Image via Woodleigh School/Flickr