I do not love to cook.

There, I said it. I do not feel the need to buy organic. I am all about some pop tarts for breakfast and some frozen pizzas for lunch. And, if I’m honest, the kids only recently realized that the pop tarts are better toasted. They had been eating them straight from the box until then. My favorite meal happens to be whatever someone will deliver hot and ready to my door. Just the other morning I heard myself say, “No, you may not eat a chocolate bunny for breakfast. Now, please sit down and eat your cocoa puffs.” I know, right?

As I sit here writing this (on Sunday afternoon), however, I am thinking of the meals I have recently made. Nothing gourmet, mind you. One night, it was pancakes and scrambled eggs. Another night, ham and macaroni and cheese (from the oven, not the box – thank you very much.) Then, there was today’s lunch – lunch meat sandwiches, fruit and chips – served outside on a blanket. None of these meals would make it onto anyone’s Pinterest boards. But, suddenly, it occurred to me – I’m not just making meals. I’m making memories.

And that, my friends, takes a lot of the pressure off.

Motherhood is not a competition and you are not behind. Your pizza pans may be shiny and from pampered chef and mine may be (very) well used and from k-mart, but you and I are the same. We love our babes. We forget (or, ahem, choose not to) shower. We clip coupons and cut corners and pray for a short line at Starbucks. We do the very best we can and, sometimes, that looks like pot roast and potatoes and homemade bread. Other times, it looks like grilled cheese and soup from a can. At the end of the day, if you’ve sat down around the table (or t.v. trays) with folks you love, it’s all good.

I guess what I’m saying is that we make it way more difficult than it needs to be. You’re doing a far better job than you think. No one is judging you nearly as harshly as you are judging yourself.  

So, this week, try to view your activities differently.

Don’t worry so much about whether your meal was made from scratch. Was it made with love? Did you make a memory? Did you laugh? Then, you win.

You, fellow mom, are a rock star.