Because I am Italian and a mother, guilt is my companion; like a little pet dog only not as cute and cuddly. One day, in the throes of a gargantuan guilt attack, I decided to apologize to my college-age daughter for acting like a mad woman at a time when we were each in a shaky stage of our lives: she was in middle school and I was in peri-menopause. So I e-mailed her, “I’m sorry, honey, it was a rough time, hormones were in a rage, blah, blah, blah, mea culpa, mea culpa, mea culpa.”
Her stunning response: “I only remember good things about you, Mom. Even when I was really young I remember you always were so supportive of ideas that I had. One time I said I wanted to be a detective and you said, ‘You would be so great at that!’ And when I wanted to be a hairdresser you were just so supportive. It really to this day makes me feel so good!”
Whoo hoo!!! Apparently, I was my daughter’s bridge; a little rickety as times, but her bridge nonetheless. Take that, my pesky little companion called Guilt!
What did I learn from my daughter’s awesome response? That despite the inevitable mistakes we may make, if most of the time we give parenting our best effort, it makes a difference in our kids’ lives. So to all you guilt-ridden Moms out there, take heart. You are doing a great job – keep up the good work!
Watch the touching video below to hear about other moms who were unsure about whether they are doing a good enough job and listen to what their children had to say:
