Mom To Mom: Being Perfect

The author and her daughter. (Photo courtesy of Jennifer Newell)

By Jennifer Newell

I like things perfect.

I like my house to be spotless, my closet to be in color order and my garage to be spic-and-span.  And as much as I like things this way, I’m reminded a few lessons as we approach my daughter’s third birthday.

Three years ago I was about to become a mother.  I honestly had no idea what that meant.  I hadn’t ever been around babies.

I am an only child and really only babysat older children.  My husband and I took every baby care class and I read every book imaginable.  I chose one main book and decided that would be the way we “handled” a newborn.

As parents know, things don’t go as planned.  Newborns don’t conform to schedules and sleep deprivation can make you think you are crazy.  However, I realize now that I was just getting a peek at being a mom.

In the past three years, I’ve seen myself inside someone else and that has been life changing.  Most of the things that bug me about her are actually traits of mine that I need to work on.

I never thought that I could love something so much but at the same time be so frustrated with her behavior.  I ask my mom if she ever felt that way about me and her response was, “I still do.”  So I’m left knowing that this ride I’m on is going to have many more life lessons for me to experience.

I think that the most important thing that being a mom has taught me is that I don’t have to be perfect.  There will be days when nothing else gets done, I don’t take a shower and the kids are still in their pajamas at dinnertime.  However, the best thing I realized is that I’m perfect for her and she’s perfect for me.

Savoy resident and mom of two Jennifer Newell runs  Bella Bambini Boutique, 2213 S. Neil St. in Champaign.

If you are interested in contributing an essay for our “Mom to Mom” feature, please email us at editor@chambanamoms.com.

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