‘You look in the mirror and think, ‘My gosh. What happened to me?’ Your 3-day-old yoga pants covered in smeared banana.’: Woman urges ‘you don’t see it, but you are the perfect mom’

“You can’t see it at 5 a.m. when the baby got up early again and your eyes are so puffy that no under eye cream stands a chance.

But it was there, that one perfect moment when he was babbling ‘mamamamama’ laying in his crib anticipating you.

You don’t see it when your 3-day-old yoga pants are covered in smeared banana from breakfast.

But it was there, that one perfect moment when his sticky chubby cheeks perked up from smiling ear to ear screeching, ‘Mmmm!’

You don’t see it when you’re trying to help your crying teething baby settle for a nap, barely keeping your own eyes open.

But it was there, that one perfect moment when he was twirling your hair as he settled down and his body got heavy with relaxation.

You don’t see it in the floor covered with toys or the countertop smattered with dirty dishes.

But it was there, that one perfect moment when he crawled in to the kitchen and stood up next to you to watch you do the dishes.

You don’t see it when you look in the mirror before you go to bed and think, My gosh! What happened to me?

You don’t feel it looking around your messy house, desperately brushing out the crease in your hair from your days-old ponytail, wondering where all of your clean bras are.

But it’s there, one perfect Mom for your sweet baby who spent the entire day smiling and adoring the same face you are criticizing right now. The one who went to bed remembering all of those perfect moments.

Here’s to working on laying down the criticism and picking up grace.”

This story was submitted to Love What Matters by Mandi Tuhro. You can follow her journey on Facebook and Instagram. Submit your own story here and be sure to subscribe to our free email newsletter for our best stories.

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