Perfection Pending

By Meredith Ethington

  • My Books
    • The Mother Load
    • Mom Life: Perfection Pending – The Book
    • Free eBook: Sometimes Motherhood Sucks
    • How To Grow Your FB Following
  • Motherhood
    • Inspiration
    • Encouragement
    • Childhood
    • Humor
    • Parenting Memes
    • Friendship
    • Marriage
  • Kid Ideas
    • Recipes
    • Practical Tips
    • Babies & Toddlers
    • teens and tweens
    • The Elementary School Years
  • Mental Health
    • Mental Health
    • Anxiety
  • About
    • Favorite Posts
    • My Portfolio
    • Privacy & Disclosures

In the Motherhood

Some Days Just Suck

  • Share
  • Tweet

I’m going to start off this post with a quote from my sister’s blog (that she never blogs on anymore),

If you find yourself reading a post and thinking “Wow, she sounds really negative,” I suggest you think of it as your own faulty perception, start back at the beginning, and try to read it with a more positive attitude.

I would say something that might apply to my blog is:

If you find yourself reading a post and thinking, “Wow, she sounds really negative”, I suggest you read yesterday’s post or tomorrow’s, and realize I am just a girl taking it one day at a time, and today just happens to suck.

I think I might make an instaquote out of that and give it a permanent place on my blog. But, for real, this post is going to sound REALLY negative. Because I AM really negative today. But, allow me that. K? Because, I’ve been pretty dang positive lately if you take my advice and read some of my other posts.

What pushed me over the edge was when I switched my load of whites, and pulled out my daughter’s beautiful, blue, easter dress she wore in these adorable photos. I started searching frantically to see if I had ruined it by bleaching it, and thought I was in the clear, until I turned it around and sure enough, there was a giant bleach stain on the back. I threw it angrily to the ground, let out a swear word, and left it on my dirty laundry room floor.

At least I don’t have to iron today.
donaisabla.com

Not to mention the car accident I almost caused this morning, and the baby falling down the stairs today when  he was trying to be big and climb up them, and I watched it happen, not being able to stop it (don’t worry, he’s fine).

Ugh. It’s just been a crappy day.

I was in the middle of a great dream about Chandler’s new molar being popped out of his bloody mouth because he was clenching his teeth too tightly when Avery stood over me, waking me up and all dressed for school, asking me to take the tag off of her new shirt. I pulled the ear plugs out of my ears that I use to not hear the dang birds outside my window at 4 am every. single. morning. (definitely no Cinderella here) chirping and singing gleefully, and reached up to pull the tag out and ripped a hole in the underarm of her shirt. Great.

From there, it was just foggy. One thing after another just turned to crap, and I just should have never gotten out of bed this morning.

So, instead of focusing on the positive and making a list of things that I am blessed with (I know, I know, there are MANY), I jotted down a quick list of things that are driving me crazy.

My Bedroom. Last night, as I went to bed, I said to my husband, “I really need to clean our room tomorrow.” He replied, “I thought when you are an adult you don’t have to clean your room anymore”. I laughed, “Oh is that what’s going on here?” The piles of crap that surround my very small bedroom are killing me. I hate finding toys on my bed when I finally have kids IN bed and want to have an adult thought. Yet, 99.9% of the time, I go into my room, and step on, trip over, and lay down on a toy. It’s infuriating. Not to mention the pile of stuff that I need to do something with that I keep moving onto my bed during the day, and off of it at night. Which leads me into my next rant.

Unfinished projects. I have at least 3 I can think of laying around my house. Broken picture frames on my kitchen counter, quiet time boxes I may or may not ever complete that I found from an idea on stupid pinterest, and organization projects EVERYWHERE. Trying to get organized is making me unorganized.

Lost crap. Things keep disappearing in this house. And reappearing. I have a feeling a certain 17 month old is to blame. Like the toothpaste. Could not find it anywhere last night. This morning, it magically appeared where it is supposed to be.

Clothes. My kids are outgrowing all of them at the same time. Which forces me to do my most dreaded chore of all. Clean out closets, and re-organize because our closets are too dang small to keep two sizes in.

To fix my funk, I loaded the boys in the car and decided the park was in order. After all, the weather was beautiful. A little chilly with the wind blowing, but super pretty. We went to our favorite truck park (an awesome neighborhood park where everyone leaves toy trucks and shovels and buckets to play with in the sand) and I just couldn’t snap out of my sour mood. We left about 45 minutes later. Which is a good thing because I didn’t bring myself a jacket and had goose bumps and the little 2 year old that was wearing no pants and no shoes was making me a little more angry than was rational. She’s not my kid, who cares?

The truth is, some days just suck. And, some days, we just have to cry. And, some days, we just have to put ourselves to bed early and convince ourselves that tomorrow will be a better day. Because, usually, it is.


18 Comments

« The Little Moments can Define Motherhood and Childhood
I’m a Poet and Didn’t Know It »

Comments

  1. mkstump says

    May 9, 2013 at 2:29 pm

    Ugh. I hear you. Crappy days are so…. crappy. Hoping tomorrow is a better day for you!

    Reply
  2. Rayna Drago says

    May 9, 2013 at 3:01 pm

    Oh Meredith…would you hate me if I laughed so hard at this while here you are having the worst day ever? You ripped her shirt?? LOLOLOL!!! I’m sorry…that is just too funny and such a thing to happen on a day like this. I love this pic…I may not iron but I sure do feel like this on many days. 5 hours left till bedtime…you can make it!!!

    Reply
    • fakingpictureperfect says

      May 9, 2013 at 3:03 pm

      Go ahead. Laugh. It’s your right as another tired mama.

      Reply
  3. adventures says

    May 9, 2013 at 3:02 pm

    Very well said. Not every day is a great one. But it’s the really crappy ones that make the just okay days awesome! 🙂

    Reply
  4. Tracy@CrazyAsNormal says

    May 9, 2013 at 4:35 pm

    And by posting your crap those of us in reader world don’t feel so alone standing in the middle of our own crap. 🙂

    Reply
    • fakingpictureperfect says

      May 9, 2013 at 4:36 pm

      Glad I could help then!

      Reply
  5. Michelle says

    May 9, 2013 at 4:40 pm

    It never fails. You have a great day and feel like you’re doing great….and then Whammo…..the next day sucks. So sorry. Maybe tomorrow will be better!

    Reply
  6. bensbitterblog says

    May 9, 2013 at 5:53 pm

    If I’m not mistaken, this sounds like a Bitter rant that belongs on my blog. No space bitterness or clothes too small bitterness or organization bitterness. Whenever you are feeling bitter, you head on over to the Bitter Blog and feel much more positive about yourself. At least you don’t get bitter about socks…that I know of.

    Reply
  7. Amber Perea says

    May 9, 2013 at 7:45 pm

    Yo, truer words were never spoken. Some days suck and when they do, you can’t help but focus on the sucky. 🙂

    Jp had old-school tantrum and busted my lip. Then I fixated on the dog hair on the baseboards for an hour.

    🙂

    Reply
    • fakingpictureperfect says

      May 9, 2013 at 8:28 pm

      Hahahaha!!

      Reply
      • Amber Perea says

        May 9, 2013 at 8:54 pm

        Ps- I meant to say yesterday. 🙂

        Well, at least I finally got to those baseboards (always a silver lining lol)!

        Reply
  8. momonfire says

    May 9, 2013 at 7:54 pm

    Amen. You are entitled. Hope tomorrow is better

    Reply
  9. boringyear says

    May 9, 2013 at 11:39 pm

    See, the problem is that you bleach things! I’ve never bleached laundry in my life… I don’t even know how. If you don’t bleach stuff, you can’t get bleach stains! Problem solved 🙂

    But seriously… Sorry your day is shitty. I hope tomorrow is better!

    Reply
  10. The Hook says

    May 13, 2013 at 8:08 am

    Well said!

    Reply
  11. Julie Rambo says

    June 27, 2013 at 7:12 am

    Meredith, going through the kid clothes are my most dreaded chore too. My office currently has about 10 bags full of clothes. I don’t know who they fit or where I’m going to put them. Bleh! Love you!

    Reply
  12. cartoonwuver says

    July 10, 2013 at 11:36 am

    haha completely agree with you 🙂 !!

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. The Less Guilt Mama | Faking Picture Perfect says:
    May 14, 2013 at 2:45 pm

    […] Saying that motherhood is hard. My first-time mommy self had post-partum depression. She was in the house all day with a newborn and no car, and no family, and she was depressed. She did everything for the baby and nothing for herself. She cried a lot, and then felt guilt that she was sad. She didn’t talk to anyone about it and felt very alone. Now, I complain all the time! No seriously, there is something liberating in reaching out to others and sharing your heartaches. Some might see it as ungrateful, but trust in your heart that you are a good mom even if you say out loud that it is hard. I no longer feel guilt for admitting this gig is thankless, and sucks sometimes. […]

    Reply
  2. Positivity | Faking Picture Perfect says:
    June 18, 2013 at 2:46 pm

    […] Some days suck. And, sometimes we are misunderstood. But, as my Grandma Erwin always used to say, ”As long as you and God knows what’s right, that’s all that matters.” […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Welcome! I’m Meredith.

Mom. Writer. Diet Coke connoisseur. Born and raised Texan. Lover of real talk and laughter with a hint of sarcasm mixed in.

The Mother Load

Perfection Pending on Instagram

Meredith Ethington

perfectpending

Mom • Author • Mental Health Therapist In Training
Grab my new book, The Mother Load, available now. 👇👇

Night night! 😤 Night night! 😤
If you missed my last post about how raising teens If you missed my last post about how raising teens can wreck you mentally….wellll this is part of the reason why. So lonely! But we are in this together somehow. 😂 Make sure to check out my latest substack and grab a copy of my book —- The Mother Load!
NEW ---> "When there are problems in these big kid NEW ---> "When there are problems in these big kid years, it’s no longer really acceptable to call a friend and air the annoyances of the situation. At least not the specifics.

Sure, you can commiserate with a fellow parent about teenagers being the worst.

But, to be honest - they’re not the worst. They’re kind of amazing. But their problems make me tired to my core." 

Read the latest on my substack. I promise you'll relate. ❤️
So sweet. ❤️ Follow me @perfectpending and bet So sweet. ❤️
Follow me @perfectpending and better yet buy my book or subscribe to my substack to support me.
"I don’t know about you, but I don’t really wa "I don’t know about you, but I don’t really want same-ness anymore. I want messy. I want admissions that shit is hard and we don’t have it all together. I want to have a makeup free, messy bun in my sweats run in with a mom friend and not feel worried she’s checking out my un-groomed eyebrows.

I don’t want to try to give off this illusion that I’m control of my life any better than the next person. It’s a shitshow for all of us, and we continue to hide it for fear of what? Being human?"

Read the rest on my Substack. Link in profile.
WHAT IF THIS IS THE HAPPIEST I’LL EVER BE AND I WHAT IF THIS IS THE HAPPIEST I’LL EVER BE AND I MISS IT? What if I miss the best time of my life. What if it’s right this second?
What if it’s right now while I’m in finals week of grad school, and have a kid that’s sick? 
I already miss so much. The gummy smiles of babes without any teeth. The squeaky voices of 2 year olds. The babbling of a baby that’s just trying so hard to say mama. The grammar mistakes my kids make when they’re talking that I don’t have the heart to correct because I love it too much. 

I miss a lot about those younger years that have already slipped away. My youngest is sick, much like in this picture, but he is too big to snuggle in my arms now when he’s running a fever. 

Today I had the thought, what if this is it? What if this IS the happiest I’ll ever be?
For a moment, I lingered in that thought as I stood over my sink and did the dishes. I started to cry.
Am I missing it? AM I? I felt a tug that maybe I was. Maybe I wasn’t relishing enough, and enjoying enough, and being present enough.
But, then I realized, it will never be ENOUGH. 

Read the rest in my substack ❤️
New year, same me. 😂 #mentalhealth #anxiety #de New year, same me. 😂
#mentalhealth #anxiety #depression
"I don't care" as I literally care about every sin "I don't care" as I literally care about every single thing.
I’ve got to admit - I’m kind of over all of th I’ve got to admit - I’m kind of over all of this. *sweeps arm generally at planet earth*

Look, I’ve never been a half glass full kind of gal. I can ALWAYS find the negative in every situation. 

But, right now it’s easy to say that I’m over it. It being.....

The state of our economy. Social media. People being unemployed. People being racist and homophobic. The debate over politics. People judging people. ALLLLLL of it. 

Everything is crap right now. We joke about it a lot. We have to in order to survive. 

It’s the one millionth day of January but Spring feels so far away. 

I’m over these four damn walls that we call home. 

Yeah, I know. Even as I’m typing this it all sounds like a bunch of ungrateful whiney BS. I hear it. I don’t need you to point it out, Karen. 

But, my guess is you’re reading this right now and realizing you’re over it too. Whatever “it” is in your life.

Some days the world feels like total crap. Everything is a mess. Everything costs too much. For E-V-E-R-Y-B-O-D-Y. 

Yes, even for you Karen. ➡️➡️ to keep reading.
Yes. Boundaries are healthy and good. And they mea Yes. Boundaries are healthy and good. And they mean someone loves you that much to communicate them! Love this wisdom from @wittyidiot
NEW POST ----> "This is not a post about loss of a NEW POST ----> "This is not a post about loss of a loved one. Or loss of a child. Those things are real, and they’re heart wrenching. And, this post is certainly not to compare that loss with the one I’m going to talk about.

But, the loss of yourself in motherhood is real. And It’s not talked about enough." 

Do you feel like you lost yourself in motherhood? How? I really want to know. 

Psss - I am in grad school to become a therapist, and am not ashamed to ask that you subscribe to my paid substack. I just lowered the cost to $36/year! That's like $4/month and you'll have access to all my previous posts, and some new weekly short posts to give you ideas to help with balancing motherhood and your own mental health. I'm learning a lot in school, and will only continue to do so, so subscribe and we'll support each other. ❤️
This memory made me laugh this morning. 🤣 This memory made me laugh this morning. 🤣
Saaaame. @womenwhorunwiththemoon Saaaame. @womenwhorunwiththemoon
I’m sorry are you really wearing doc martens and I’m sorry are you really wearing doc martens and a dress with spaghetti straps and a Tshirt under it while you’re telling me I’m doing it wrong? 🤣 Life is wild. Teenagers are fun.
Found in my pediatricians office. 🤣 What’s th Found in my pediatricians office. 🤣 What’s the moral of the story friends? If you think your household is always sick - it’s because they probably are. Kids make everything more germ-y
Here’s what I do know 👇 No one knows what th Here’s what I do know 👇

No one knows what they’re doing. 
We all feel like imposters. 
Our kids love us anyway. 
We’re all going to be OK. 
You’ve got this (as much as any of us do) 😘

#momspiration #momlife #funnymoms #memtalhealth #parentinglife #parentingquotes
"By trying to be perfect, we're actually trying to "By trying to be perfect, we're actually trying to avoid being human." 

Do you struggle with perfectionism? Parenthood has helped me quite a bit, but It's something I've battled my whole life. I still struggle occasionally, although it's gotten better. But, let's stop trying to avoid being human and instead embrace ourselves an in turn embrace the entire human race. ❤️ I'd love to hear how you embrace being imperfect. 

#perfecționism #mentalhealth #mentalhealthawareness #anxiety #imperfect #perfectpending #themotherload #thementalload
Mood. Mood.
Some of you wanted sources on my last reel where I Some of you wanted sources on my last reel where I said we only need to be getting it right 30% of the time for our kids to have secure attachments. Well I wrote a bit more about the concept of being the “good enough mother” a term coined in the 50’s by a researcher and pediatrician. Check it all out in my newest post. Link in profile.
It’s true! Researchers have found that as long a It’s true! Researchers have found that as long as you’re doing the repair after mistakes the other times - then 30% is enough! Sometimes I worry I’m not doing it right but I definitely know I’m doing it right 30% of the time! 
Probably a whole lot more to be honest. I bet you are too. #momlife #encouragement #momspiration
Load More Follow on Instagram

You might also like

The Greatest Gift Is To Watch Your Child Leave You

Mom holding baby in nursery and yawning

When Does Parenting Get Less Exhausting? Newsflash – Never.

Dad holding tired girl after trick or treating during Halloween in the 80's

Halloween in The 80’s Was the Best Ever

mom forcing a smile with fingers and blue background

Stop Complaining About Motherhood. Here Are 21 Reasons You Shouldn’t

Here’s How to Deal With Hating Being a Parent

Copyright © 2025 · Perfection Pending · Designed by Krizzy Designs

Copyright © 2025 · Divine Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in