Did you know that July 7 is National Let It Go Day? Me neither*. As a mom, you have everyone telling you how to be the perfect mother. If you’re like me, Miss Type A+++ personality, you read every blog article, listen to NPR, and ask all your wise friends for their parenting advice. Why? So, that you can get it right the first time. Personally, I think mommies of only children do this a lot.
Once you’ve been a mom for a month, you begin to have regrets. Should I have breastfed longer? Should I have shared my bed? Why did I let her watch TV before age 2? Should I have stayed at home? Why didn’t I go back to work? Why didn’t I have more children? Should we have stopped with two kids? Ladies, stop it! Stop rethinking every decision you made because of the latest recommendations of the AAP or that segment on The View.
Whatever choice you made about your child, you did the best you could with the information you had at the time. Look at your kid right now, either the picture on your phone or the blurred version of the kid running past you. That kid is fed, that kid is clean {mostly}, that kid is safe {relatively}, but most of all, that kid is loved. 
So, it’s time to let it go. Grab a piece of paper, preferable that sheet of paper that was already been colored on. Turn it over and write down your parenting regrets. Yes, list them silently because you don’t want to scar the eight-year-old for life. Good, you did it. Okay, think about them and remember that although you would change some of your decisions, that kid survived in spite of your issues. Look at your children. Your children are resilient and empowered because of all the decisions you made. The ones that make you cringe and the ones you celebrate. You’re a great mom and nobody better say otherwise. You have the proof right in front of you.
Now, rip that paper up into confetti size pieces and throw it away. Dunk it into the trash like you play for the Golden State Warriors. Toss it like a blowout diaper and treat those regrets the same way. Hold your nose, touch them lightly, put them in the bin, and never look back.
