MOTHERHOOD IS NOT A COMPETITION!

I have purposed to do my best to edify and build other people up.  I am NOT PERFECT in this area by any stretch of the imagination. But I do try.  In spite of my best efforts, there is something that puzzles me greatly within the confines of mothers in our society.  Instead of edifying or building each other up, often we perceive that we are in competition to have the brightest, best dressed, perfectly fed, healthiest, and what we think of as happiest children; at the risk of ostracizing others in our quest for perfection.

Mother’s, please let me be frank and speak to you directly from my heart:

I don’t care how many children you have!

I don’t care if you home birth, hospital birth, go all natural, or have an epidural!

I don’t care how you diaper your children!

I don’t care if you exclusively nurse your babies or if you supplement with formula!

I don’t care if you wait until your child is a year old or four months old before you offer them “real food”!

I don’t care that your six year old is a math whiz and competing at a high school level!

I don’t care that your child is “behind” in their classes and is struggling and just can’t keep up with whoever they “should” be keeping up with. They are learning at their level and THAT IS ENOUGH!

I don’t care that you are an all organic totally natural no vaccines mother!

I don’t care that you give your kiddos chocolate and Little Debbie’s daily and have them up to date on all vaccines!

I don’t care that your child is on four sports teams and is a whiz at every ball game he or she plays!

I don’t care that your child is more interested in books or video games than sports!

I don’t care if you send your children to preschool or public school!

I don’t care if you homeschool your children!

To be honest, I don’t care what choices you make!

But wait just a minute there Jennifer!  HOW ON EARTH CAN YOU SAY YOU DON’T CARE?

I can say it because truthfully, I am not here to judge you as a parent.  I think that all of us struggle to do what is best for our families and our family dynamic on a daily basis.  When we throw in our guilt over what we perceive to be a lack of perfection onto another person because they homeschool, bottle feed, make their own laundry detergent, or eat processed foods daily we are NOT doing what we need to do as women or moms!  In our society that demands perfection, we should not be looking to tear each other down, to compare ourselves to others, or to believe the lie that we are better or less than someone else because they choose to mother differently.  Instead, we need to be supporting each other.  Sadly, most women choose the comparisons and competition game over the support game (especially within families).

I am not the MOTHERING POLICE!  Truthfully, I often feel like I am drowning on this journey that I call motherhood and I just don’t have the time to tell you what you are doing wrong!  Some days it takes all I can do to get laundry and dishes done with children dressed and fed!

  I can, however, tell you some things that I do KNOW for sure!

 YOU ARE DOING GREAT BEING YOU!

THERE IS NO OTHER WOMAN DESIGNED TO BE A BETTER MOTHER TO YOUR CHILD OR CHILDREN THAN YOU!

YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL AND CREATED FOR THIS TIME AND THIS PURPOSE!

YOU DON’T NEED TO COMPETE WITH ANYONE!

YOU ARE A MOTHER, YOU ARE ENOUGH!

I think that it is time that all women STOP the competition and start the edifying!  What do you think?