I started this post as a highlight of a “St. Patrick’s Day Healthy Round-Up” pinterest board. But as I got looking through Pinterest, my thoughts went elsewhere . . .

Here is a little secret about me . . . I am not the crazy holiday mom. That doesn’t mean if you love holidays and make them amazing you are crazy, it means that holidays would make ME crazy if I were to attempt some of the pinterest-y things I have seen other moms doing. My kids don’t think I am boring, but they don’t know any better.

It’s easy to get swept into the game of comparing ourselves to other moms online. The crafty moms, the cute lunch-making moms, the amazing hairstyle-doing moms, the fun outing moms, the interior decorator alter-ego moms, etc. etc. etc.

I realized several years ago that I wasn’t going to become a sewing mom. I wanted to, badly, at one point. I saw the “easy” tutorials for repurposing clothing on different blogs and started hoarding my old t-shirts and camisoles for such projects. Years later I still hadn’t attempted one darling little girl’s dress from an old t-shirt! Nor had I made a drawer-full of head bands/wraps from said shirts or started an Etsy shop to sell my wares!

This is when I had a heart-to-heart with myself and realized that it’s OKAY to not be “that” mom, whatever it may be. I still pore over some of the creations of these wonderfully talented mothers and am in awe. But I am not jealous.

Here is what I am good at:

• spending quality time with my children — playing, reading books, playing games, etc. I like to BE with them as often as I can.
• making food with/for my children — I love food (in case you didn’t pick that up by now). I love to have my kids with me in the kitchen (most of the time) helping me bake or make dinner. This is something I know I can do well, and can teach them. They won’t learn how to make crafts or how to sew from me, but they will learn how to cook/bake.
• teaching them — I wouldn’t have admitted this a few years ago, but I think I teach them well. Sure, we all have a lot to learn, and my kids aren’t perfect. But I try to teach them about things they are interested in, and how to be good people who love others and put God and family first.
• exploring the world with my children — we live in a beautiful place in the middle of nowhere and I try to get outside and let my kids roam as often as possible.
• talking to my children — I didn’t ever think about this one until my mother in law mentioned it a couple of years ago. She appreciated and could tell that my husband and I REALLY converse with our children. We don’t talk over them or brush off their questions, we discuss and really TALK with them about a lot of subjects.
• letting them be little — I am a MAJOR advocate for children being allowed to be children. I don’t want to push them to grow up, and if they won’t fight for their childhood, then I will! I let them be little, and allow them to get dirty and messy and figure life out as it comes to them. One of my greatest joys as a mom has been watching my children learn new things by exploring on their own.
• holding my children — we do a lot of snuggling/down time at our house and I have gotten pretty good at it.
• keeping life simple — I try not to over-complicate, over-schedule, or over-stimulate my children and I see that as something that I do well. Their life is simple and happy.
• being the best mom for THEM — I am not a perfect mom (non-existent), but I am the perfect mom for THEM. They are mine, and we are learning each day together.

As holidays come and go, we do our little seemingly insignificant traditions without a lot of fanfare. And sometimes I see my Instagram spammed with rainbow food and elaborate leprechaun houses and think, “I should have done that.”

But then I remember that I am doing what I am good at, and my kids don’t suffer because of it. They need what I have to offer, and that is all that matters.