I feel guilty all the time. Mum guilt. Wife guilt. Friend guilt. The list goes on and on.

And bloody hell, it is exhausting feeling this way. Beating myself up emotionally for every little mistake I make or every time I don’t live up to the image of perfection that I aspire to.

But I’m human. I make mistakes and I’m not perfect. So this leads to a great deal of guilt.

Over the years I have learnt that writing down my feelings can highlight how ridiculous they are. That they’re just silly thoughts and not facts. And they don’t have any power.

So here is a list of 50 reasons why I feel guilty.

50 reasons why I feel guilty

I feel guilty because I…

1. have a little nap while Little Miss H watches cBeebies

2. let Little Miss H watch cBeebies

3. don’t take Little Miss H to any extra curricular classes

4. go to bed too late

5. don’t drive and so the children miss out on seeing their friends and going to exciting places

6. go to bed too early

7. give Little Miss H fish fingers, chips and peas for dinner far too much

8. get shampoo in Little Miss H’s eyes when I wash her hair

9. throw out any toys that come out of Kinder eggs

10. am sometimes late dropping Little Miss H at preschool

11. am really lazy

12. don’t clean the house as much as I should

13. rely on Mr H far too much

14. don’t give Mr H enough lie ins

15. haven’t been on a date night with Mr H in over a year

16. don’t cook enough evening meals

17. was anxious throughout my pregnancy with Little Mister H

18. had issues breast feeding

19. don’t want to go to my 20 year school reunion

20. once laughed when someone told me they loved me

21. post photos of Mr H on social media even though I know he hates it

22. snap at Little Miss H and upset her

23. get upset when Little Miss H wants her Daddy and not me

24. don’t speak to my brothers as much as I should

25. never tried cloth nappies on our children

26. don’t see my family as much as I should

27. haven’t taken Little Mister H to any baby classes on his own

28. won’t let Little Miss H wear summer dresses every day of the year

29. eat far too much cake, chocolate and biscuits

30. don’t exercise enough

31. am a bad example for my children

32. have low self-confidence which I don’t want my children to see

33. don’t tell my parents I love them enough

34. want to pee without an audience

35. would love to have a day at a spa away from my children

36. lose my patience and get exasperated by my children

37. wish Little Miss H was less cheeky

38. take 50 years to do any job

39. am no longer organised

40. don’t reply to friend’s texts and messages as quickly as I should

41. force myself on friends who are probably sick of me

42. get a little jealous when my friends see each other and I miss out

43. am dreading my children being teenagers

44. don’t do enough for charity

45. want my children to wake up in the night so that I can give them extra cuddles

46. am a rubbish blogger

47. want my blog to be much more successful when I should love it as it is

48. fail to finish any blogging course I take part in

49. don’t appreciate every moment that I spend with my children

50. don’t tell my husband and children that I love them at every opportunity

There you have it! A list of 50 random reasons why I feel guilty.

And as I had hoped they do look ridiculous written down. Carrying around this amount of guilt is too much. No more!

If any of these reasons seem familiar to you then I want you to know that you’re not alone. Guilt as a parent, goes with the territory. But it is silly and we need to put the guilt aside.

Do you ever feel guilty? Please let me know that I am not the only person.

Hugs

Lucy

xxxx