This morning I cracked my eyes open around 9:45! Amazing right? I know! For those of you without kids a 9:45 wake up is the equivalent to an 11:45 am wake up. The first question out of my mothering mouth was, “Did the girls eat breakfast?” After the correct response I closed my eyes for a little longer while listening to the sounds of them playing happily and singing a kindergarten rendition of ‘Uptown Funk’.

I realized in that moment that by sleeping in, I was teaching my girls an important lesson. The same lesson I teach them when I don’t do the dishes before I go to bed. The same lesson I teach them when I let them watch a little too much TV so I can finish reading the book I borrowed from the library, and the same lesson I teach them when I let them eat cereal for dinner…

The lesson I teach is that life is too short to always stress over the dishes.

I teach them that getting rest and taking care of yourself is an important part of being a mother and a woman.

I teach them to look for a partner who will say “ssshhh, your mom is still sleeping.”

I teach them that they do not have to be perfect.

I teach them to love themselves.

I also understand for them to remember these lessons I have to reinforce them. I have to remember to take days off, to sleep in and to not sweat the small stuff. I don’t want my children to remember me as being perfect. I want them to remember me as being human.