So yesterday was not one of my most stellar days as a mom.  It was a typical hectic afternoon…picking up, dropping off, picking up, dropping off.  This is a cadence that I’ve grown used to but yesterday there was a business trip thrown into the mix…for which I needed to finish packing…and of course the various household tasks that need to be tended to before heading out of town.  So there was some stress…there was some yelling…and as I drove out of town and I felt my sore throat (from the aforementioned yelling) my eyes filled with tears.  I’ve got a spirited kind of personality so I tend to be reactive to everything in my life, the good the bad and the ugly.  I realize this is not helpful in any way shape or form when it comes to family stress, and I think I’ve gotten better at handling it…but sometimes I fail miserably.  And yesterday was one of those days.

So last night after a stressful drive to my hotel I sat down to relax in front of a fire to wind down.  And precisely at that moment I received a text from my daughter, apologizing to me for the way the afternoon went down.  She acknowledged her part and expressed her desire to make things better…and ultimately for us to understand one another better.  And at that moment I realized that despite my failings as a mother, I might not be doing as bad of a job as I thought.  It’s the long game…not the short game.

After reading a blog post from We Are That Family this morning about a very similar moment, it occurred to me that this is common..I’m not the only one.  We are all in this together.

I’m so proud of these girls…inside and out.  They aren’t perfect…I’m not perfect…our relationships aren’t perfect.  And that’s totally ok.

P.S.  Thanks to Kelly V Photography for this (and many other images) from last month…she’s kinda awesome.  I mean she’s got mad photography skills but to take on three photographer kid female teenagers…that’s bravery.