12 awesome tips avoided by great moms

September 13th, 2008


Hey moms! I just had to share with you something really awesome that keeps turning up when I Google myself. “How to Be a Great Mom – 12 Awesome Tips.” I mean, how awesome! All 12! Tips!

And look! It’s on this site called Zen Habits. That’s so zen!

I’m never again going to wonder, “What does it take to be an awesome mom?” Here we go: 1.Stay true. 2. Don’t be a martyr. 3. Don’t try to be perfect. (That was perfect. Without trying!) 4.Ditch the guilt. 5. Be patient.

Whoa. Just be patient! That’s so zen. Why didn’t I think of that? I’m going to start being more patient right now! But wait, maybe I should kill the patience and hurry through the other tips so I can finally be an awesome and great mom in just seven more steps and start being patient later. Awesome!

6. Listen to your children. REALLY listen. (Yoo-hoo! All caps means REALLY.) 7. Be their mom, not their friend. (That is so “unique” and “original” too.) 8. Teach them simplicity. (Simple!) 9. Don’t push too hard. 10.Teach self-esteem. 11. Teach self-reliance.

Big shout out for self-reliance! A website with 70,000 subscribers latched to their computers reading an endless recitation of inane and superficial tips on how to live life tells us to be self-reliant! Why didn’t I think of that? I’m going to start as soon as I’m done reading this great list of awesome tips on how to be a great and awesome mom.

12. Laugh and have fun.

Photo credit: kmevans

18 Comments »

  1. Ha ha, you Google yourself, too.

    These are great tips though. Thanks for sharing them. Now I have no excuse not to be a great mom. But, following #9 – I won’t push myself too hard … then I’d end up feeling guilty when I suck.

    Is there a difference between not trying to be perfect and trying to be not perfect? And if so, which ought we do?

    Comment by Mrs. B. Roth — September 13, 2008 @ 3:31 am

  2. i so covet the title ‘writer’ and glorify the one titled blogger. 70,000 really. 12 steps to becoming a great follower:
    first read the about page. okay just one step but really 70,000? okay im a cynic.
    ah yes. 12. laugh and have fun.

    Comment by latisha — September 13, 2008 @ 3:52 am

  3. Oh yes but did you see the next page – the one below the 12 great tips? Zen the Great and My Mom’s Going Through Menopause.

    Don’t forget step twelve!

    Comment by Shalet — September 13, 2008 @ 4:05 am

  4. Teach self-esteem. Sure. Get right on that. Because we all know how much we know about that.

    Of course, first, I need to practice my pushing–gotta get the pressure just right.

    I thought I was his mom, but I see there’s more to it now than giving birth.

    And I like to do anything that is in CAPITAL letters. REALLY.

    Hmm, but wouldn’t simplicity REALLY be a blank piece of paper? Or at the very least a list without numbers.

    Comment by mapelba — September 13, 2008 @ 5:02 am

  5. Hey kids… er, Moms, collect each tip until you have a whole set! That plus 10,000 “box tops for education” by General Mills will win you a REALLY big prize. REALLY. We promise. Meanwhile, practice step 5 until that happens.

    Comment by Kathryn — September 13, 2008 @ 5:17 am

  6. you crack me up (and open).

    mb

    Comment by mb — September 13, 2008 @ 5:20 am

  7. arrrghhhh on being a great mum, doesn’t the title just defy the answers?

    Comment by Honey — September 13, 2008 @ 6:51 am

  8. Oh, we’re supposed to AVOID those?! Thank God you pointed this out. I’m going to start my new approach to being an awesome mom TODAY!

    Comment by Jena Strong — September 13, 2008 @ 12:52 pm

  9. I am way off that list, I don’t even brush Anise’s teeth. But what I REALLY want to achieve in parenting, is to never hear the word “awesome” come out of anyone’s mouth…

    Comment by Mika — September 13, 2008 @ 4:24 pm

  10. Um, I think Karen is being sarcastic – right?

    Comment by Anonymous — September 13, 2008 @ 8:20 pm

  11. OMG. This is, like, so awesome. Finally, all of my questions answered, my insecurities addressed, and my fears vanquished. Just, like, OMG.

    Did it hurt when you googled yourself?

    Comment by Mama Zen — September 14, 2008 @ 4:34 pm

  12. Yes, Mama Dearest, it does hurt when you google yourself. It usually hurts a lot!

    Comment by Karen Maezen Miller — September 14, 2008 @ 5:43 pm

  13. so i dreamt last night that i could find my homework. i didnt’ know what my homework was. i did homework anyways. then couldn’t find it. then wrote it in sand and half of it washed away before i left the house. but i could find all of my books for school….you get the picture. i asked my husband, who freaks me out when he analyzes my dreams. he said, i was returning to a time in my life when i could control my work and knew it was done right…and all i’ve been doing lately is fixating on whati’m doing wrong, how i’m not doing things right, am i bad mother or doing ok…you get the picture. seriously i need to get over myself already…i’d probably sleep a whole lot better.

    i think my story relates?

    Comment by Sarah — September 14, 2008 @ 6:47 pm

  14. What is that a picture of? Cookies? Pumice stones? I’m having trouble figuring it out.

    Comment by Kristin H. — September 14, 2008 @ 7:15 pm

  15. Cheerios, Kristin. Stacked like those ubiquitous zen stones (on certain other zenlike websites) that we bash into our heads by trying to figure everything out when there ain’t no list to memorize, and no right answer, Sarah.

    Comment by Karen Maezen Miller — September 14, 2008 @ 7:54 pm

  16. {{{giggling}}}

    this is why i try not to google myself. it leads to too much….something!

    Comment by Phyllis Sommer — September 15, 2008 @ 2:03 am

  17. you know what would be really useful- those tips in a cross stitch. Then I could crack myself up all the time.
    heh. love the cherio picture.

    Comment by nyjlm — September 15, 2008 @ 4:49 pm

  18. 😉

    Comment by Fiona Robyn — September 19, 2008 @ 3:57 pm

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