Well, Crap

So, I made it a week before I missed a day of blogging. Oh well, all I can do is try to get back on track. There wasn't anything particularly difficult about my day yesterday, but somehow I went to bed without even thinking about blogging. Too many other things going through my head I suppose.

I have been thinking about my last blog post and I don't think I really got my point across the way I wanted to. It's not that I said anything untrue, but there is so much more that I wanted to say that just wasn't coming out right that day.

I don't think it's realistic to expect ANY woman to be "SuperMom". But so many of us strive for that and all it does is cause extra stress.

I think this affects moms of children with special needs even more because we are perceived as "SuperMoms" just because of our situations. I don't mean to say I don't appreciate the recognition and validation from my friends and family members when they tell me I am doing a great job raising my children. I really do.

It's kind of a difficult thing to explain. When people say things like "you are doing an amazing job", "I know your life must be so difficult" and "I couldn't do what you do", there is a part of me that feels like I have to try even harder to live up to those perceptions.

I don't feel like a Supermom, most of the time I struggle to feel like a good mom. Believe me, when you try and try and try to get your child to listen to you and they refuse (for far longer than a typical child their age), it can be pretty detrimental to your self-esteem.

I often don't want to accept help with Aaron because I feel like I ought to be able to do it on my own. He's my son, I should be able to provide everything he needs. Regardless of whether or not that leaves me any time to do anything for myself or the rest of my family.

I know this Supermom thing is not unique to my situation. It happens to most of us in one way or another. It's all about "Keeping up with the Joneses", right? (I have always found humor in that saying since it's my maiden name) We think all of our friends are the perfect mothers, fathers, etc, but none of us really are. We all have flaws. I think I need to come up with a slogan that reminds us of that. Something like "Supermom Doesn't Live Here. She Moved to Never Never Land to Live with Santa Clause and the Tooth Fairy." Maybe I'll make myself a sign and hang it in my room.