Forget the Mom Guilt–What’s your Superpower?

Mom Guilt is real. And this week, my list of sins has felt very long. On the day that my 15 month old social butterfly wound up playing by himself because he doesn’t know how to make friends (and I don’t know how to help him), I started counting my fails. (Nevermind that it is completely normal for one-year-olds to not know how to share. And to greet one another by touching their faces.)  

Dwelling on the ways we fall short we think we fall short is easy to do, but it leads only to more doubt and frustration. On this day, I consciously switched my thinking. I started counting my successes. I wrote them down on a piece of paper I found next to the mail pile. It was wonderful. Recognizing one success led to another and another, giving me some much-needed perspective to turn around my day. Give it a try sometime–and any time–you find that the Mom Guilt is taking over.

I won’t be posting my list here. But I will take the opportunity to brag about three things that came up when I started listing my Mom Hails instead of my Mom Fails. I consider them to be my current superpowers–

  • I can spot a pacifier in the dark before you can count to 10.
  • I’m an awesome cheerleader for my kid as he’s learning new things.
  • I can make up songs (sometimes they rhyme!) to entertain or distract. 

Now it’s time for YOU to brag about yourself.

Are you the master of rainy-day games? Can you mend a broken friendship between two teenagers? Do you get all the groceries into the house in one trip? Can you make pancakes in the shapes of cartoon characters? 

I asked some of the Atlanta Moms I know to brag about their own Mom Superpowers:

“My superpower is finding creative ways to teach the kids and bring out their own creativity. I developed a game that would make learning math easier and fun, which my son loves. He even likes to pretend he’s a game show host and come up with his own questions and categories.” –Jakevia

“I trick my son into calming down when he’s having a tantrum. I ask him to count to 10, how many sides a pentagon has, or what color the sun is, and keep this line of questioning until he has calmed down.” –Faiza

“Stealthily dodging a whiny toddler on my way to the bathroom…” –Brittni

“I grate carrots or chop spinach into almost every meal, especially pastas and soups, to get a few more fresh veggies into my toddler!” –Katie

“My newest one is being able to hold (and entertain) a teething baby, retrieve the dog’s bone that has slid under the couch, AND listen to my 5 year old tell me his dream from last night that must have been an hour long… and somehow kept changing… My tricks: a necklace, a swiffer, and an endless supply of “WOW!”s.” –Laura

“I can guide my son back into his bed when he comes into our room in the middle of the night. I don’t say a word to him, just guide him back to his room.” –Kathy

“I’m really darn good at getting babies to sleep through the night!” –Diana

“We live by the ‘must take 2 bites of a new food’ rule. Only 2, no more conversation about it after that. My 12 year old will eat pretty much anything.” –Catherine

“I add chopped spinach to pancakes and muffins and call them Monster Muffins and Hulk Pancakes. My kids love them and have never questioned why they are green.” –Jamie

Tell us! What’s your superpower?

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