The other night I was tagged in a parenting meme on Facebook. Usually when a friend tags me in one of these things, I have a quick laugh (or sometimes just a little snort) and then turn off all the notifications.
But this one… this one not only made me laugh out loud, but made me want to stand on the podium and collect my prize.
I had not only won Mum Guilt Bingo, I was ready to crown myself presiding champion.
Finally, a game I was good at.
Featuring such parenting achievements as 'wine or sushi after conception', 'threw away their artwork' and 'screen time of any kind', I felt like I had finally achieved something worth celebrating. Usually, I go to bed (like a lot of mums) with the all too familiar pangs of guilt because I gave the kids steamed veggies instead of fresh, I hid for too long during hide and seek (because I was on Facebook) or I neglected to make them toxin free, vegan, paleo, unicorn safe glitter play dough I'd screenshot from Pinterest months ago.
This is a game for real life mums, not Facebook perfect mums (I'm convinced these mum's don't actually exist). Real life mums can play along and be filled with a sense of pride, a sense of achievement and most importantly understanding.
Read more: Five things mums should never feel guilty about.
Looking at the list, I was filled with inner pride. I'd achieved most of the items in several rows by lunchtime Monday. See - I'm a winner.