I used to be a very carefree person. Id let so many things just roll off my back; trusting that it would all work out.

Something happened to me when I became a mom. I became much more serious and let things get to me far too easily. Why? I think its because I wanted to be the perfect mom. Now Im learning that in my quest to become perfect; somehow I lost the enjoyment of it all!

As I seek to relax some of my expectations a bit more, I wanted to share with you some things that Ive discovered have added too much stress to my life unnecessarily.

1) Interruptions.
Children will be children and they ARE going to interrupt me! My tasks, chores, and projects will always be there; but my children wont.

2) A Picked-Up House.
This one has been tough for me. Is it really worth getting all stressed about if my children have some toys out or there are crumbs on my kitchen floor? I can get it taken care of at the first opportunity without becoming a grump about it.

3) Delegating.
I have a bad habit of trying to do everything myself. I realize that my children might not get something accomplished up to my standards; but its better than feeling stretched in five different directions all at once and then having to tell them that I have too much to do!

4) Criticism.
Im being very vulnerable to you to admit that sometimes I can be critical of my children. I am not perfect so why should I expect them to be? If I work with them gently even if it takes five or more lessons on the same thing; I will feel much better about my mothering skills and they will want to make more of an effort instead of us both just feeling crummy inside because I was hard on them.

Ive taken a few pulse points and a hard look at myself lately. Im learning and growing as a mother. These years will never return to me! I realize that too much goes on in life to let little things get to me that wont matter tomorrow, or next week.

I may not be the perfect mom, but I hope I am on the road to learning how to be a loving one.