A salute to all the messy moms today

Best memories with kids are often the ones covered in fun

Ilong ago gave up on the concept of being a perfect parent. Is there such a thing? I don’t really know. I think the internet would like us to believe there is such a concept, but I just can’t quite get my head around it.

Take those social media posts by alleged moms showcasing perfect cupcakes created to look like elaborate roses, complete with a fancy table setting and a child with a frosting-free face? Those posts always make me giggle.

If you are one of those moms who can pull that off, I am in awe of you, because I could never quite do it.

My kid and I baked a lot, and once spent an afternoon making cupcakes with blue frosting, topped with daisies made of cut mini-marshmallows and Tootsie Roll pieces. They were cute– but they were far from perfect.

The sides of the cupcakes had bonus blue frosting, and our fingertips were blue from frosting taste checks. After all, we had to make sure the frosting was safe to eat! And those daisies? They were like snowflakes – every one of them was unique.

But they had one common thread: they were all delicious.

What mattered to me was having fun with my daughter, not striving to make someone else’s ideal something in the kitchen.

Motherhood is a tough gig. There is a lot of pressure to be picture perfect, especially when parenting in the age of social media.

But the reality is, motherhood is messy. There is no recipe or pattern to raising a child, and what works for one family may not work for anther. It’s not perfect, and ultimately, we all wing it.

There are moments where moms struggle, times when moms need their tribe to step in and give them 30 seconds of silence to catch a breath. And after that pause, moms jump right back in again, moving forward, because while they might not be picture-perfect, they are full of love and driven by heart.

Those are the heroes we celebrate today.

After all, later on in life, kids don’t remember the perfect cupcakes. They remember the day with their fingers tinged blue from frosting, covered in cupcake mix powder, snacking on daisy-shaped marshmallows with their messy, wonderful moms.

Happy Mother’s Day, Yuma!