That daily twinge of parental guilt

I've finished tucking my son into bed, told him that I've loved him and am about to turn off the light when he tells me that I am the best mom ever. It's a sweet statement that gives him extra kisses and cuddles and reassurances from me that I just try to be the best mom for him that I can be, and I am glad that I did a good job that day.

Then, I leave the room and immediately start thinking through all my interactions (or lack of interactions) with my son that day. And by the time I am downstairs again, I have convinced myself that I need to be a better mom tomorrow.

Parental guilt. It's an awful thing. And it's universal: At least one study suggests that parents feel more than 20 guilty moments a day. (That number might be low.) For example, my range of guilty thoughts at this very moment include the following:

• It was a beautiful day and I didn't take my son to the park
• I dragged him on an errand with me that I could have done earlier in the week on my own
• I missed watching his swim class today because I had too much scheduled for us
• I am already late getting dinner started, so we are going to eat later than I'd like
• Eating later means that we might not have enough time to play a board game before bed

And I could probably go on if I let myself.

But that's the thing: I try really hard not to let myself. Because it is far too easy to start mom-ologuing my faults to myself. And that helps no one.

Instead, I think I will do as my son does and accept myself with my flaws and just try to be the best Mom I can be every day.

What parental guilty thought is dragging you down? Unburden yourself in the comments.