Mommy Fail?

Stella, my 3-year-old daughter, told me the other day that I was not being nice to her. Putting her dramatic nature aside, I was still hurt by this comment.
         
It made me think. Am I a bad mom? Was I being a bad parent?

Us parents are busy. We work, we budget, we cook, we clean ... When I get home from work, I’m tired. I get an average of six hours of sleep at night. Sometimes I feel lucky that I find time to wash my hair.

On the way to pick up the kids after work, I feel excited. For a moment I realize that I missed my little babies all day, and I can’t wait to hug them, kiss them, squeeze them and smell them.
And then that moment is gone.

I think about dinner and how I'm going to get that dinner on the table while I am home alone with two kids until hubby gets home. I think about all the things I meant to do that day but never got to. I think about the laundry, the dishes and the phone calls I want to return but won’t be able to once my kids start running loose around the house.

I feel tired. Sometimes I just want quiet for one minute, I want this so badly that I get home, turn on the TV and plop my little ones down in front of it in hopes that they will not need me for maybe five minutes. Just five whole minutes.

This of course, never happens. When they do need me, less than one minute later, I feel irritated and annoyed. I wonder why they just can’t leave me alone. Then I feel sad.

I see their precious, innocent faces and remind myself that they need me because I am their mother and that is my job. Am I bad parent?

No, I'm not a bad parent. I care for my family. I do what I can to survive, as many of us do on a daily basis. Considering the fact that Stella made her claim based on the fact that she was not allowed to have a cookie until after dinner further proves my point. Our children may make claims that are real to them but not realistic at all.

We must remember that no matter what we do, we do it for our kids. And that makes us all GREAT parents.