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
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
19 Comments
M_ak
September 8, 2017 at 11:17 amI relate to this so much!
Mrs H
September 15, 2017 at 8:02 pmThanks for your comment. I’m sorry to hear that you relate to this. We really are too hard on ourselves. Hugs Lucy xxxx
Debs Aspland
August 10, 2017 at 7:32 amOh wow! I could have written this (if I wasn’t so lazy/a rubbish unmotivated blogger/housework averse/ unorganised, etc)!
Thank you so much for sharing this list and making me feel less like “it’s just me”.
You now need to write 50 things you’re proud of. Xx
Emma
July 9, 2017 at 3:51 pmI can relate to so many of these! Sometimes I feel that no matter what I do, I would feel guilty about it for some reason!
Beth Owen
May 3, 2017 at 2:32 pmOh bless you Lucy! But yes I can relate to many! Mum guilt is horrible! #MarvMondays
Jade @ Captured By Jade
May 2, 2017 at 3:29 pmWe’re our own worst enemies sometimes, and that’s what I think makes this list relatable. I hope you remember all the great things you do, as well holding these guilts. I feel guilty about not driving also! #MarvMondays
Wenchy
May 2, 2017 at 6:54 amI always say with conception comes guilt! 🙂
kristin mccarthy
May 1, 2017 at 8:01 pmMy list would probably be about a mile long at this point.
#mrvmondays
Lucy Melissa Smith
April 30, 2017 at 9:50 pmThis is pretty similar to my list, I feel guilty a lot of the time too! I think it’s natural but we do all need to be kinder to ourselves! 🙂 xx
Jules Pondering Parenthood
April 30, 2017 at 9:04 pmAs parents we feel so guilty about so many things that we have no control over. Never feel guilty about chilling out with your babies, though! xx
Hannah Budding Smiles
April 30, 2017 at 8:50 pmWhy do we do it to ourselves? It’s such a heavy load to bear and we don’t need to feel so damn guilty. Great post darling, you’re an amazing lady xx
Lisa (mummascribbles)
April 29, 2017 at 5:55 pmNumber 48 – I am so there with you! Great post lovely – I think most of us feel a lot of these xx
Jeremy@ThirstyDaddy
April 29, 2017 at 1:43 amI’m pretty sure that if I gave this some thought I could get to 100 fairly easily. We all torture ourselves unneccessarily
Morgan Prince
April 27, 2017 at 10:05 amOh gosh yes! I feel guilty all the time too. You’ve listed so many of the reasons I feel guilty. You are definitely not alone!
Jaime Oliver
April 26, 2017 at 4:51 pmaww Lucy, I can relate to 46 of those and can add another 20 more! we are our own worst critics aren’t we.
Sending you the biggest hug x
Amy @ The Smallest Of Things
April 26, 2017 at 10:52 amYou are definitely not the only one. I am riddled with guilt for all the things I didn’t or should of done. But all we can do is put everything into what is ahead of us 🙂 be kind to yourself sweetie ox
Abbie
April 26, 2017 at 10:48 amI really like this post, I may have to do something similar myself as it does make you realise how much unnecessary guilt you carry around when its listed down like that. I wish we could all just let the guilt go, I really do! x
Al
April 26, 2017 at 10:08 amWow! That’s a lot of guilt to carry around. And honestly guilt you don’t need to be feeling. Hope you’ll write a 50 things that are good about me to accompany this.
Cara
April 26, 2017 at 3:34 amMrs. H, I think every mom can relate! You’re right, we are ridiculous bullies inside our own heads. Why is it so much harder to make a list of things we do well? Not in a boasting way, but to feel a sense of accomplishment. I enjoy reading your blog, thanks for sharing pieces of your life with us.