When it comes to school and sports I always tell my kids, “I don’t care about the outcome as long as you try”. I try to instill that not every subject will be their best and they won’t be great at every sport. Lately I’ve been asking myself why it’s so hard to tell myself the same thing.

My daughter came home with some school work that needed help. I could tell she was embarrassed to show me she didn’t get 100% and didn’t finish or didn’t understand. I sat down and asked her to think if she tried her best or was distracted that day. She thought about it and told me she really tried. She was upset, but I told her I’m happy with what she did. If she really tried her best to understand something or do her best work, then she got her best possible outcome. Hopefully she learns from it and we can do more next time.

Saying it out loud made me realize I never give myself the same grace. As moms we try to do everything perfectly all the time. Social media does us no favors by showing perfect scenarios, gifts, events, etc. all the time. I don’t know about you, but as a full time working mom of 2, I don’t have time for perfection all the time. However, you better believe I try.

I hope everyone allows themselves grace and encouragement. Did what you attempt have a perfect outcome? No? I hope you tried your best, because that’s a win. I hope you saw what maybe could be done differently next time or learned something along the way because that’s a win. I hope you never stop trying for yourself, but also know that the outcome doesn’t have to equal perfection. You trying is the perfection.