Guilty Pleasures

Admit it we all have guilt. As mom's we feel guilty if we work, if we stay at home, if we nursed or did not nurse, if we picked the "right" doctor or preschool. We KNOW life will end if we don't make all those "right" choices and then we feel guilt. So what do we do when our husbands are tired of the "honey which (insert parenting choice here) should we do...." We ask our fellow mom friends. Problem here is that everyone has their view of right and they are determined to make you think like them. While we may have honest well meaning friends who offer great tips there is always that one mom. You know her, she has the perfect kids, clothing, doctor, school, car,  and everything else you see. She is also the one that drives the "mommy guilt" van with comments like " That sounds like a good choice, but if it was me I would........"

And a normally intelligent, confident woman becomes a babbling mess second guessing herself into debt, depression, or competitiveness to prove she too is the perfect mom.

Here is the secret.... there is no perfect mom formula, or someone wold be a millionaire selling it on TV right now. There is just guilt, and instead of supporting each other, helping each other make the pro-con list and debating hours over whether the shoes at Kohl's are just as good as Stride Rite, we fuel the fire for mom guilt. Solution: ignore them. Do what is right for your family because behind closed doors you dont know what the "Perfect's Life" is really like.

Then there are guilty pleasures and we become "that mom." The one who after weeks of whining just gives in to the candy in the store line because you just can.not.take.one.more.errand.with.fighting. The glass of wine as your kids play, ignoring the fight between the kids because really lego's can be removed from a nose or the cat if you try.. or you know daddy is pulling into the drive way and well he can handle that one.  Yet we still feel guilty because we are mom's but we should stop. Enjoy the glass of wine, put up your feet and relax let dad handle it. My guilty pleasures are the $14 manicures.. yes they last 3 days but for 30 minutes no one is calling me, someone is pampering me, no one needs me or anything and I have bliss......Today my mom guilt was spending the time with two of my best friends in the world they are more like sisters.. a quick lunch date turned into 6 hours of walking the mall, talking, laughing and feeling like we were 16 again. I need more of those days when you can say anything knowing they are my "hide the body friends"

So order your guilty pleasure and enjoy it without a side of mom guilt. At the end of the day everything will work out and if not there is always tomorrow! (or therapy)