Yes, I said it: Parents, sometimes we just have to LOWER OUR STANDARDS.
“I Was About to Pull a Jesus at the Marketplace & Send Tables Flying. Parents, We Have to LOWER Our Standards”: Mom Urges Parents to ‘Have a Little Grace’ for Themselves
Tiny people aren’t meant to regulate their emotions and hunger and boredom and exhaustion the same way adults do. They just can’t. And unless you want to be a hermit for the next five years, you’re gonna have to accept that imperfection happens.
If a picnic on a dirty floor buys you a moment’s peace, I say go for it.
If the baby is drinking tiny sips of Daddy’s sprite, and it keeps her from melting down, well 1/4 cup of soda never killed anybody.
As Nugget chewed on a French fry overlooking the water, a woman at the table behind us turned around in her seat. She was definitely preparing to make some commentary, and my stomach dropped a little.
“His curls are so adorable,” she smiled. “My son right here used to have the same exact hair!”
Her teenage son laughed and waved, and in that moment I relished in the beauty that is this Sisterhood of Moms.
We all have a certain amount of grace chips when we get started, don’t we?
My husband handed me a grace chip when he took the baby. That mom handed me a grace chip when she completely ignored our floor picnic and instead, complimented my kid.
And tonight I want to hand a grace chip to all of you, in hopes that you might pay it forward.
Parenting is hard. Sometimes we have to just drop the bar in order to get over it.
None of us are perfect. We all require grace.
And folks, that’s okay.
Because luckily, we all have some grace to give.
Parents, do me a favor. Take a moment to jingle those grace chips sitting in your pocket, and remember this moving forward:
What you pass around will eventually make its way back to you.
Make it kindness. Make it grace.
Share a smile with the family whose kid is eating fish nuggets on the floor of Salty Dogs.”
**This post was written by Mary Katherine Backstrom and originally appeared on her Facebook page. See more from her on Facebook.
