I did it again. I lost my temper and yelled at the kids. I ended up throwing a temper tantrum, not unlike the ones I’ve tried to teach my kids not to throw. How ironic is that? I should be more mature by now; I mentally chide myself.
“Will you forgive me?” I ask my kids after I’ve calmed down. And even though they say they will, I still feel guilty. It seems like I should be past losing my temper by now and be the calm, patient mother I want to be.
Nothing can cause more guilt than parenting. As moms, we want the best for our children. We want them to have good educations, enrichment opportunities, and to spend quality time with them. We also have to juggle jobs within and outside of the home, make doctor appointments, and spend quality time with our spouses. For those who are also single parents, there is even more stress and responsibility. And after a year marked by COVID-19 the chaos of at-home working and learning has only added to the guilt. In our desire to become better parents, sometimes parenting books can have the opposite effect that we want: they can make us feel more guilty.
That’s where the following books come in. They are guaranteed to encourage, not condemn. They meet us right where we are and we won’t have to pretend to have all the answers to this mothering thing—and these authors won’t try to give us all the answers, either. What they will do is remind us of our true identity, bust up some motherhood myths, and help see how limitations can be a thing to be embraced.
Leave a Reply