Every Mom

Recently I've been thinking a lot about how different moms are in how they mother and how these differences often become ways that mothers bash other mothers.

Not every mom puts their child to bed at 7pm like I do, but every mom puts her child to bed.
Not every mom feeds her child homemade cookies and sweets for snacks often like I do, but every mom desires to feed her child.
Not every mom spanks, does time outs, uses reward charts, or uses bribery but every mom desires for her child to be respectful and kind to others and does her best to see that this is so.
Not every mom has her children on a strict schedule like I do, but every mom tries to fit the most important things in the day somehow (food, potty breaks, sleep).
Not every mom cooks a homemade meal 355 days of the year like I do, but every mom feeds her children in a way that works for her family.
Not every mom restricts television watching like I do, but the reasons for allowing it are so abundant that saying that television watching is bad is very judgmental and wrong. And besides not every mom has a few minutes at lunch time like I do because my husband comes home to eat, and not every mom has a child who isn't interested in PBS (the only children's channel we get). And for the record, my children love Praise Baby DVDs and a DVD of aunt Sarah and her class singing songs for us, sadly, Allyssa is scared of Praise Baby right now though because the sound is off because the DVD got sticky. (I wonder whose sticky fingers did that.)

So recently when I was listening to what one mom does to her child, I reacted in shock to something that was said, sadly, I didn't speak up. It wasn't that the thing being said about the mom was shocking, to me, it was not. I've been there. I've had that day. What was shocking to me is that it was being said. What I didn't do was stand up. So I'm sorry mother that I have never met before and know too much about and shouldn't. I should have stood up for you and for every mom out there. I didn't. I failed you and every mom out there. I am sorry. Please forgive me.