Mommy Guilt

When I became a parent, I was told that along with my new baby, I would be blessed with something called Mommy Guilt. A child and this feeling of guilt, I was told, go hand in hand.

This mentality not only saddens me, but somewhat angers me.
YES, we mothers should be aware that our decisions now affect another life.
YES, we mothers need to wary of making good choices for our children.

But guilt? I don't understand the fear we have of failure.
Now, this might just be my tendency to be a teensy bit over-confident (naively arrogant, some may say) in many areas of life, but I would like to argue that guilt is not a necessary component of motherhood.

Don't we teach our children that we all make mistakes? To do our best at everything? To be patient with others when they slip up? To be forgiving? To love unconditionally? To not place blame?
Do these lessons not apply to us mothers?

I'm here to encourage all you moms out there--keep it up, you're doing great.
Don't feel guilty over that one mistake you made last year, last week, yesterday, today.
We all make mistakes.
But, we're trying our best.
And isn't that all we'd expect from our children?

"But Mom, I don't want to go on a walk! It's cold outside!"