My alter ego is SuperMom. Her house is always spotless: no dirty dishes on the counter, no dust to be seen, floors clean, beds made with clean sheets. The laundry is always done, folded, and put away. Her spouse's work clothes perfectly ironed. She always has dinner on the table at exactly 6pm when her spouse gets home from work. It's always perfectly healthy and made entirely from scratch: no canned goods, all organic produce, locally-raised free-range meats. Her children are always perfectly behaved. No fits or screaming or crying in public. They do not run in stores or touch the merchandise. They are always wonderfully helpful and say "Yes, ma'am", "No, sir", "Please", and "Thank you very much". When they do make a poor choice, SuperMom never yells, never berates, never spanks. She calmly and lovingly explains the better choice. She makes all her gifts from scratch and has a lucrative side business as a photographer, sells her crafts on Etsy, or is a consultant for some home-based business. She never forgets a birthday or anniversary and always sends a card. She takes meals to those she knows who are sick or injured or stressed. She's active in the PTO and at church. She never eats chocolate before breakfast and works out for an hour three times per week.
I wish my alter ego showed up more often. The truth is... my alter ego might not actually exist. I think she does and compare myself to her daily.. and I always come up short. I have spent so much of my time as a stay-at-home mom feeling like a failure because my house is rarely clean, my laundry rarely completed, my husbands shirts never ironed. Dinner is usually made and often healthy, but some days 6pm rolls around and I have nothing to feed my family. My children know how to behave in stores, but they forget and often I yell. I dream of selling on Etsy, but have never made it happen. I can't tell you the last time I sent a card or the last time I worked out. So why do I feel that being a good mom means being perfect? I dunno.. what do you think?
