Feeling like you failed your kids is one of the most awful feelings in the world. Whether you can’t make it to an event because of work, missed a special “bring a toy to school day” or just lost your patience after hearing “mom” for the thousandth time, feeling like you let your kiddos down just hurts.
I had a “mom fail” last week with my youngest daughter. There was a field trip planned to the pumpkin patch and I had planned to go. The year before, my oldest daughter also went to the pumpkin patch located in Grinnell and after seeing the itinerary, I assumed it was the same place.
The day of the trip, I dropped her off to take the bus while I would meet the class there since it was close to work. I even confirmed the time the class was suppose to arrive at the pumpkin patch. The problem was I didn’t clarify the location.
As I sat in my car, I decided to go pay for my entry prior to the bus arriving. It was there I learned there was no class coming from my daughter’s school. An instant sense of panic filled me as a realized I messed up. I quickly got on my phone and found out the bus was headed to Cumming, not Grinnell.
I got in my car and headed, quite quickly, to the southern side of Des Moines. The whole time I was questioning myself on how I missed the location and berating myself for letting my daughter down. In reality, I knew she was just fine, having a good time with her friends and I would be there about a hour late.
After driving in my car for what felt like hours and gathering myself after shedding a few tears of disappointment, I arrived at the pumpkin patch. My youngest was all smiles having just gone on a wagon ride to pick out her “huge” pumpkin. We headed to the play area where we spent the next hour or so going down slides, digging in the corn pit and doing many other farm related activities with her classmates.
We all ate lunch together and then the class headed back to school before going to my parents house to story time in the graveyard. The whole time my daughter made no mention of my not being there on time and really just had a lot of fun with her friends and me, too. I knew I was being a lot harder on myself than I needed to be but that didn’t stop me from feeling bad about the mistake.
I know as the years go on occasions will happen where I mess up again, it is just a part of life and being human. My many calendars and lists will help me along the way but I hope for grace, from my kids and myself for the next oops.
Contact Jamee A. Pierson at 641-792-3121 ext. 6534 or jpierson@newtondailynews.com