Guest Post: Mother of the Year

Praise the Lord, it's Monday! Hope your weekend was not like mine, filled with throwing up feverish babies.

It's the last Monday of the month, which means it's Casey's turn as our guest blogger. I hope her words inspires you to embrace the hard, messy, failing side of yourself to help you become a better you.

You can find her other Guest Posts here:

January - Directions

February - Follow the Yes

March - Wishes

So today was one of those mornings when I could feel myself making mistake after mistake. I was in a sour mood, as a result of a whiny toddler, and I was letting things spiral out of control. Luckily, my husband saw my sanity unraveling and made a joke, which diffused the situation and kind of broke the spell of my moodiness. And even though we were able to laugh about it, I still felt crummy about some of the choices I had made, wishing I'd made better ones. Definitely not getting Mother of the Year award today. But the thing is, we all have those days. And even though admitting it means admitting we're flawed, it's also the thing that makes us good parents. Being able to make mistakes, letting our kids see that, and then turning things around.

A big portion of our relationships nowadays have to deal with social media and only seeing certain aspects of other people's lives ~ the things they want to share. The fun, the joy, the successes. But the truth is, the mistakes and the failures often have more to do with shaping who we are and the choices we make in life. Where we go, after being stuck in the mud, determines the kind of people we are and the stories we will leave behind. And even though sharing our weaknesses is not the thing most of us choose to do, it's sometimes the quickest way to cut through small talk and false smiles, a way to begin breaking down the walls we often surround ourselves with. If we can accept each other in this flawed state, without judgment, it can allow us to forgive ourselves. It can allow us to have the courage to get back up and emerge stronger people. And this is what those little faces, standing in our shadows, will see. And that is how they will learn to be strong, have heart and, always, pick themselves back up.

About Casey:

From the time she was 9 & obsessed with writing stories on her plastic blue typewriter in Clifton, New Jersey until eventually earning a creative writing degree, Casey has always been a storyteller at heart. She is also an artist, photographer & dreamer living in Omaha, Nebraska with her son, husband, and 3 kitties. Together they laugh, create & fight crime.