AM I A BAD MOM? Give yourself some grace, mama!

I recently went and saw the new “Bad Moms” movie featuring Mila Kunis and a handful of other well-known celebrities. I have to admit that beneath all the coarse language and some adult content, there were several points that I could relate to – as a mom, as a parent. Things that ALL parents could relate to.

Basically, the take home message is that we are all bad moms (or bad parents) lol. But is that really the message? I chose to look deeper, to read into it a bit more. The truth is, we all do our best. We juggle our kids, our hobbies, our spouses/partners, our jobs (whether we stay at home or work away from home), our sanity. We want to be everything and everyone to our kids; Parent, friend, disciplinarian, leader, teacher, role model, etc. But at some point, we need to take a minute to breathe. 

If you haven’t seen the movie, here’s a quick synopsis:

The lead character starts the movie by doing it all. She’s an involved parent, a supportive spouse, a leader at work, shuttles her kids to and from school and activities, makes dinner, cleans the house and more. She’s exhausted and then finds out her spouse is having an affair. Her world crumbles. She starts to give up. Her friends see it and try to lift her up. Her kids resent her for becoming selfish. Her marriage falls apart. 

She goes through a rebellious period and then begins to find herself again. She ends up running for president of the PTA to overthrow her new nemesis, but it’s really more than that. She is standing up for the “real parent”. Those of us that work hard, stand by our beliefs and do what we think is in the best interest of our kids and families. We may seem to be judging on the outside, but really, we’re all in this parenting thing together. 

LET’S BE REAL

The reality is that we give everything we have for our kids, we want what’s best. But at some point, we need to realize that they will grow up. They will make their own choices and we hope and dream and pray that we taught them enough to make good choices and follow the right path. 

Parenting is hard. It’s tough. But to see the little humans that come out of this crazy experience is amazing. Think back to your childhood – there were ups, most likely some downs too. But what do you remember? What memories have stayed with you all these years? Those are the experiences, the hopes and dreams that we pass onto our kids. We all make mistakes but it’s how we take those mistakes and learn from them that shapes who we are as parents, spouses, friends, colleagues, etc. 

Besides, we turned out OK, right?