Dear Super Mom
Dear Super Mom,
The house was quiet with the hushed sounds of sleep machines and the muted volume of HGTV. My kids were finally asleep and honestly, I could have done a little dance knowing my mom duties were done for the day.
Yet I felt the urge to make some adorable and delicious treats for the kid’s teachers. I think somewhere deep inside I wanted to prove that I was a Super Mom, too.
With the holidays rapidly approaching, I feel the Super Moms of the world pressuring me to create perfectly crafted gifts and wow the masses with my culinary skills.
After all, that’s what you Super Moms do; you pour your heart and soul into crafts, baking, and chairing every school committee you can think of, proving to the world that you can do it all.
You leave others in your wake wowed and awed by your skills and have them wishing for an ounce of your talent.
So there I was, determined to impress my kid’s teachers with Oreo Truffle turkeys and do at least one thing like a Super Mom.
When my turkeys turned out looking like melted Muppets, I had to laugh out loud as I was jolted back to reality.
And I couldn’t stop laughing! Not only should my turkeys have been on a board of Pinterest fails, but they weren’t even presentable!
When I finally regained my composure, I had a moment of self-reflection.
I am not a Super Mom. My baked goods will never grace the cover of a magazine and after being a teacher for 14 years, I will probably never chair a school committee.
I’m not the mom that can do it all and I’m ok with that.
Looking in the mirror each day, I’m learning to embrace who God made me to be and the talents He bestowed upon me for His glory.
There’s freedom in knowing that my self worth isn’t tied into my ability to provide my kids with over- the- top experiences and food turned into animals or shapes.
I am a super mom because I dry their tears, make them laugh, and will leave a sink full of dishes just to play catch with my tiny pitchers.
A true super mom wipes noses and bottoms, cleans floors and dishes, and is more like a juggler than a super hero.
A child doesn’t measure love by the amount of Pinterest projects his mom completes or by a perfectly cleaned house.
Kids want a mom willing to get dirty, have sticky floors and be the best Elsa impersonator in the neighborhood.
Kids want a real, authentic mom, who isn’t worried about impressing others or putting up the smoke and mirrors of perfection.
There is no prize for seeming like you have it all together.
You were never made to carry this unrealistic expectation and burden on your shoulders. You were never expected to do it all.
So for the rest of us, the non-Super Moms, what we really want, is acceptance.
We want to know that whether I purchase a cake from Costco or make my own masterpiece, there will only be grace and not judgement.
We want to know that when I roll up to carpool and food tumbles onto the pavement from my rolling trash can, there won’t be snickers and giggles behind my back.
Motherhood isn’t a competition, it should be a community.
Mothers should be able to be real, honest, and vulnerable with our challenges and struggles.
Motherhood isn’t about perfection, but the everyday moments spent with our loved ones that make up the days of our lives.
So Super Mom, feel free to lay down your glue gun and take off your cape. It’s not needed or required to be accepted, but since I have a good sense of humor, feel free to laugh at my turkeys, just don’t judge me.
Love,
A Non-Super Mom
