good enough?

I was wondering last night; what makes a good mother? How do you know if your best is good enough? It’s not as though there are any appraisals or performance indicators that you can set, at least in the work place you might have targets to reach or goals to achieve. Do you just have to wait and see how they turn out when they become young adults? Wait and see if you got it anywhere near right? Yesterday, I shouted at Millie, a really cross, angry shout (she had pushed me too far) and immediately I regretted it. I’m meant to be the adult, right? I should be able to keep my cool, right? There is no training manual for parenthood either, although of course, there are hundreds of books you can get with someone’s opinion on getting it right. There are those who believe in a strict regime from day one, with nap time, eating, dressing, set out in a day run to military precision. And then there are the ‘let your baby guide you’ lot, who think that if your baby decides to sleep all day and have you up all night, then that is obviously what you have to do. I come somewhere in the middle… baby has to fit in with your family life and your routines, but if baby sleeps for an extra half hour and ends up having breakfast a bit late then that’s not a problem. I guess the answer is to work together as a family to find what works for you.