Good Mother Points

It's a rare mother who doesn't try to be a good one at least some of the time. When it's your primary job, it's impossible not to self-judge. When something happens that tarnishes your record, it's just natural to review the past.

Points for changing poopie diapers within 60 seconds of first scent: 10 points each. Letting your husband sleep in 7 days in a row while you get up at 6am with the kids: 500 points a week. Breastfeeding: 10,000 points a month. Turning your back for 10 seconds to give your baby enough time to pull the cup of coffee off the table: negative 1,000,000 points. Darn. Letting her slip on the coffee because you weren't fast enough cleaning it: just forget it, you're too far behind.

Thankfully, time erases most guilt, but only as good as the cheapest eraser works on number 1 lead. Sometimes it just smudges into a fuzzy cloud, but that's better than a crystal clear memory.