Accomplishments

luC is 2 and a half years old.  It is safe to say that accomplishments she makes at 2.5 are not things that I would consider accomplishments at my age.

Figured out how to get the cap off of something...accomplishment.
Got a shoe on with no help...accomplishment.
Reached something that was up on the counter...accomplishment.
Finding random pieces of food around the house or car and getting to eat them in all their stale glory...accomplishment!
Getting something away from jC....ACCOMPLISHMENT!!

This knowledge that her accomplishments are "smaller" than things I would consider is nothing new.  

But a couple of days ago, as I drove us around running errands, I watched her in the rear view mirror.  I watched as she took the sunglasses off that *I* put on her because she has a hard time getting them on right. I watched her as she tired with all of her concentration to put her sunglasses on top of her head, the way I wear them when I'm inside.  I watched her as she struggled and got a little flustered as she'd get them on and they'd immediately fall down.  And I watched her as she finally accomplished getting them on there.  She looked so proud of her "little" accomplishment.

When we pulled up to our house, I got my camera ready and I opened the door.  I asked her if I could take a picture, and she was more than willing to capture her accomplishment in a picture.  Her response was "I put them on mine head!!!"  The look on her face in the picture says it all.

It got me thinking about myself, and what I consider accomplishments.

As a mother with young kids, I often feel like I accomplish nothing, and I often feel like I fall short.  Truth is, a large part of this is probably because I not only compare myself to other moms, but because I compare myself to moms that have kids that are grown up.  But I compare, none the less, which never has a positive outcome.  

The bottom line is, in my comparison with other moms, I focus on all of the things I don't accomplish. My house doesn't seem clean enough, my kids don't seem well behaved enough, and my fuse isn't long enough.

 But when I really think about it, and stop making comparisons, I accomplish so much....even if people on the outside might consider it a small accomplishment.

I got out of bed....accomplishment.

I didn't lose my temper when one of the kids did something wrong...accomplishment.

I made a dinner...accomplishment.

I got out of pajamas and put make up on...accomplishment.

Taught my kids what a word means...accomplishment.

I made it a whole day with out crying...accomplishment.

Gathered the trash for juC...accomplishment.

I went to the grocery store with all 3 kids...accomplishment.

Defused a fight between jC and luC...accomplishment.

The day is over and my husband and children were cared for and loved...ACCOMPLISHMENT.

No matter how anyone else views it, each accomplishment I make throughout the day, big or little, is still an accomplishment.  And I need to be more like luC and be proud of each one that is achieved instead of comparing and focusing on all that isn't.  Maybe...just maybe, if I focus on those accomplishments instead of supposed failures, I'll actually start to view myself as the good mom that I have been accused of being.