I have been working lately on my self-esteem. It has definitely improved but I still struggle with low self-esteem some days. I may have mentioned I’m not very confident about cooking. I joke that I have a list of things I can cook: chicken strips, buffalo chicken dip, frozen pizza, cookies, and muffins.
Last night I totally messed up all three frozen pizzas I made. Two of them were burnt on one side and doughy on the other side. The one M.J. wanted to eat was completely burnt on the bottom. I was feeling discouraged that I messed up something so simple. I told Dan I have to take frozen pizza off my list. However; M.J. wanted three pieces of the burnt pizza. I know he was really hungry but it still made me feel good that he even ate the pizza at all. I was feeling a lot more encouraged after he ate the pizza. Today, I was just thinking, hey, maybe God worked through M.J. to show me it’s okay to make mistakes sometimes. Of course, I know it’s okay to make mistakes but I often feel like I make too many. Especially with cooking. I’m afraid to cook new things because I don’t want to mess them up. And when I mess up one of my specialties (frozen pizza) it can be pretty discouraging.
I just want to remind everyone it’s okay if you make mistakes. Maybe you’re way better at cooking than I am. Maybe you struggle with something else: Keeping your house clean (also me), having patience with your kids, time management, or anything else you can think of. Maybe you struggle with cooking like I do. You don’t have to be a good cook to be a good mom. You don’t have to be a good cook to fit into the “good wife” stereotype. This isn’t the 1950s anymore. I sometimes still feel bad I’m not that great at cooking but Dan likes to cook. And I hate cooking so it works out pretty well. Remember all moms make mistakes. Burning a pizza doesn’t make you a bad mom. Having a messy house doesn’t make you a bad mom. Hiding from your kids doesn’t make you a bad mom. Being late to lots of play dates doesn’t make you a bad mom. You’re a good mom.