When I was in school my parents always told me that they didn’t care what my grades were as long as I got an “A” for effort and an “A” for conduct. That way they could be certain that I was trying my hardest and behaving when they weren’t around to watch me. And that was enough for them.
However, being the type-A, perfectionist that I am, it was never enough for me. I was the kid who got a 99% on a test then fretted and stressed about the 1% I got wrong. I lost sleep, I cried, I pouted, you name it. I was a nervous wreck in school. And that’s just me. It’s who I am. I have impossible standards for myself and end up disappointed when I don’t achieve “perfection”. (More on this in a later post.)
And then I had kids. I believe that there is a degree to which everyone goes a little nuts when they have kids. Kids are messy, and loud, and break stuff. They don’t listen, or follow logic. It’s like living in a frat house during rush week with tiny little (adorable) drunk people. Every. Single. Day. Add them to my household and you’ve got yourself a mama that may look put together on the outside but is screaming and pulling her hair out on the inside. Sometimes those screams escape me. As a sharp word, a moment of impatience, or sometimes the scream itself. When that happens, I suddenly feel like a failure, a jerk, the worst parent on the planet…an asshole.
These moments make me realize that I’m really only about 80% good at parenting and 20% of the time I totally suck, drop the ball, or flat out don’t have a clue what I’m doing. But you know what? I’m trying. I’m trying my damnedest and by-golly I get an “A” for effort!
I also realize that my own girls are good kids (Like really, super, awesome kids!) and that they get an “A” for effort, too. They really do try hard every day to be the best kids I could ask for! True, there are days when the conduct could use some work, and at times, they could be better listeners or even be nicer to each other, but all day, every day they are trying 100% to be good kids. That’s all they have to do. And that’s enough for me.
The Ballard Five 
You are an awesome Momma!!! And you girls are awesome too! I was so proud at how well behaved our girls were when we all went to eat. They all have their moments but I don’t think I was the only one in the restaurant that noticed 4 well behaved girls. Ages 4 and under!!
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Thanks! They were all very good! And there was a lot of potential for mischief!
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You are so good at being a mama. It’s something you were ment to in life and I’m lucky to be apart of it. 😃
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One word description: Proud!
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