Day 365 The Perfect Mom Project

Mark making Gumbo with our favorite wooden utensil...

 "Let the Good Times Roll"

365 days ago I decided to try to sort out my life. My plan was to come to terms with my Mom and how I was raised and also spend some time looking at how I mother and how I can be better at mothering. But as the saying goes, life is what happens when you are making other plans. Boy, did life happen! This last year was a wild ride and even with the tough times mixed in, I still would not have changed a thing. Here is a short recap of what I think I learned in the last 365 days.

• I know now that I can get through anything that life throws at me. I have the ability to face down sadness and pain and move on
• My Mom did the best she could as a Mother; she worked with what she had
• My Mom loved me
• Even the most painful moments have a lesson for you
• I love my life
• I love my husband
• I love my kids
• I love my sisters
• I love my girlfriends
• Being a perfect Mom is impossible
• Being a good Mom depends on the day
• I can set a goal and complete it
• I can do absolutely anything I set my mind to
• I love writing
• Make the most of each and every day!
• Trust your gut!
• No one can hurt you unless you let them
• Forgive… not for the other person, but for you, living with hatred and anger towards someone eats you up inside and makes you an unhappy person, it's not worth it

I know that I will miss writing each day, because it has been such a big part of my life. I believe now that after a short break I will write again. I am not sure what I will write about, or even how often, but I know that I need to write and want to write. Being able to cast out into the world each day my deepest feelings has truly been a gift to myself; instead of holding them inside and letting them eat away at me, I set the feelings free. I have also had very kind and surprising responses to the things I have written. Once when I was out to eat with my family I had someone compliment me on my blog. This was unexpected and made me realize the power that writing can have.

 Mainly, the truth is that I am not a better mom then when I started this project. I am working each day to be the best that I can be, but I will never be perfect. Perfection is in the eye of the beholder. If each of us works hard each day to do the very best we can at anything, I believe that that alone brings us closer to perfection. If no effort is made how could perfection be possible? I am happy that I made the choice to strive for perfection even though it eluded me. Just trying for perfection opened my eyes to so many other possibilities.
There will always be 365 days ahead of me. There will also be good times and hard times too. My biggest take away from this last year is this. I am the best Mom I can be at this moment and I always have the opportunity to be better. I will not stop striving to be the best Mom, but I have also learned this year that I have to take care of me in order to be any good to my family. With this new 365 days set in front of me I must use a phrase that our family adopted from New Orleans, Laissez les bon temps Rouler…Let the good times roll!!

Please plan on rejoining me for the next topic starting September 13, 2010