Mama, You Are Enough: How I Know Even Though We Haven’t Met

“A total stranger told me today I should have more than one child.”
“Someone asked me what I was going to do now that my kids are in school.”
“I was approached to chaperone the field trip, but got ‘the look’ when I said I couldn’t get away from the office.”
“A friend told me that breastfeeding was gross.”

Any of those sound familiar?  If you are a relatively new mom or even a seasoned veteran like me, you have probably received at least one hurtful, judgmental comment in your “mom time.”  Well-meaning people — that believe they know the key to reaching parenting nirvana —  feel very strongly that they must share their wisdom with us.  When you are faced with these unwelcome pieces of advice, and the accompanying guilt and self-doubt that come with them, remember this image:

BECAUSE:

  • Being married or a single mom or a step-parent is enough.
  • Having one child is enough.
  • Having four kids is enough.
  • Adoption or IVF or good old-fashioned conception is enough.
  • Breastfeeding for three years, or not breastfeeding at all, is enough.
  • Working outside the home is enough.
  • Working inside the home is enough.
  • Volunteering as room mom or as PTA President is enough.
  • Not volunteering for anything at all is enough.
  • Homeschool, or private school, or public school is enough.
  • Letting your kids watch TV, or having a no-screen home, is enough.
  • Whether your kid is the star of the team or loves to read in his room – it’s enough.

I know these sound like platitudes, but when we listen to the noise of the outside world, our inner voice gets drowned out.  And that’s the exact voice that we hope and pray our own children will cultivate and develop into adulthood.  You would never walk up to your kid and say, “You’re ok, but if you did XYZ, you would be perfect.”  So, don’t let the world do it to you either.  I know we haven’t met, but please trust me, Mama, YOU ARE ENOUGH.

You don’t even have to take my word for it – Shel Silverstein said it best: