But Moms Can’t Make Mistakes!

This is hard for me to admit, but I made a mistake this week.

I know, I know. Moms are supposed to be perfect. If we’re not perfect, we certainly shouldn’t be admitting to making mistakes. We should at least live in a world where moms can be perceived as perfect.

Mom made a mistake?!

Shockingly, I’m not. I’m going to tell you about a pretty rough mistake that I made while my daughter was sick.

On the rare occasions my daughter is sick, my husband usually picks her up. Recently, however, we got that dreaded phone call from daycare. My husband had a big meeting to go to, so I put on my cape and mask and became Supermom! I left work early, went to daycare, and picked her up.

Y’all, I hate leaving work. I’m a workaholic and I love my job. That being said, it felt awesome being the one to come to the rescue. My husband is such a Superdad, I couldn’t wait to have my time to shine.

Supermom to the rescue! We’re literally shining.

You see? This is what I thought our time together would look like.

Le pauvre was sleeping when I got to school, but she was clearly very hot. I picked her up and called the doctor to schedule an appointment. They had an opening in two hours. Point goes to Supermom.

On the way home, I played the babe’s favorite music (Moana and Trolls) and she fell asleep. Double points go to Supermom.

We got home. I was ready to snuggle the crap out of her before we went to the doctor. I unlocked her carseat, my purse, and her things from daycare. I carried them all (safely) to the front door. Triple points–SUPERMOM!

I went to unlock the front door.

Okay, so my key isn’t on my key ring. No worries, I’ll check my purse.

Nope. No key in my purse. That’s odd, I thought. I always have my house key.

That’s okay! We set the alarm, so I bet the door in the back is unlocked.

I carried my sickie-poo to the back door. Nope, locked.

HOW IS THIS GOING TO END?!

I had no idea what to do. I sat in the car with the air conditioner on and the babe in my lap. I tried calling my husband. No answer. Oh yeah,  I guess he’s really important and has meetings or something. Fifteen points to Universe against Supermom.

There I am with my sick baby, locked outside of my house. It’s hot outside, she’s so tired and sick. Do I go to the doctor’s office early and hope my husband can get home by the time we do? Do I drive to my husband’s work (45 minutes away) to get his key? Do I call a locksmith?

My darling skeptical of Supermom.

Then, I remembered that I have an amazing, wonderful friend, Bonnie. She works from home as a graphic, stationary, and notebook designer (she’s so super awesome and you should check her out).

I called her to see if we could stay at her place (15 minutes away) before going to the doctor. She allowed us to come over and stay with her “as long as we needed.” She even let us lie down for a bit while her baby slept in another room (we didn’t want him to get sick).

Also, Saint Bonnie had another gift for us: A SPARE KEY! Thanks, Universe!

“HOW FORTUITOUS!”

So, we went back home, got the wee babe’s stuff, and went to the doctor. All the while, the babe had an awesome attitude. She was clearly sick, but she just snuggled me so much.

Sickie-poo baby.

Luckily, the doctor’s appointment went super well! She did have a virus and ear infection, but nothing some amoxicillin couldn’t fix! Not only that, but she wasn’t contagious.

The main thing is, I totally screwed up. It was stupid not to have my key and it was stupid not to make sure I had everything before I picked her up. We make mistakes. This isn’t the first mistake I’ve made and it definitely won’t be the last. Mistakes are okay as long as we do what can to fix them. Supermom doesn’t mean “no mistakes.” It means “We take what life throws at us and handle it the best way we can.”

Sometimes our best needs a little bump. Sometimes we need help. It’s okay that we can’t do everything by ourselves. It’s okay that sometimes we make mistakes. We learn from our mistakes and we love our kids. That’s the best we can do.

Supermomming it up.