Nice Mom vs. Not-As-Nice Mom

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So pretty much every day, I face the same conundrum at least once: should I be Nice Mom, or Not-So-Nice Mom? Nice Mom reads stories for an hour straight (even if the beds need to be made), bakes cookies just for the sake of having cookies (which makes a mess and a bunch of dishes to wash) or takes kids outside to play in the snow (even though it takes at least half an hour to get everyone ready to go outside, and someone usually ends up crying). Not-So-Nice Mom is usually more on top of the housekeeping, and she typically gets to do more things for herself -- but her kids watch more TV and movies (which doesn't necessarily mean that they're unhappy). Usually I end up being some combination of the two Moms, but I almost always feel some form of guilt for not being enough of one or the other. There are days when I feel I've successfully managed to be both -- but those days are pretty rare for me! Don't get me wrong; it's not like I wake up every day feeling defeated. I'm so happy to stay home with my girls, and there is nothing else I'd rather be doing. I'm optomistic (even overly optomistic) about the number of tasks I can get done in a day, and if (read: when) I don't get them all done, it doesn't really bother me. But I think every mother wants to be the very best for her children and often wonders if there is more she could do.

Nice Mom prevailed yesterday, and we went out in the yard to make snow angels, have a snowball fight and ride bikes (don't worry, I didn't get on a bike. No amount of good science can compensate for the strange center of gravity I've got going on right now). The girls had a lot of fun, and it was fun for me to see them having fun. Here are a couple of pictures!

Comments

Bethany said…
I think you are a wonderful mom either way! Your kids sound amazing. The most amazing thing is how early they show signs of knowing exactly who they are and what they want. Take care of yourself the next few weeks. Don't vacuum if you don't have to!
January 15, 2008 at 11:47 AM
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