A short monologue from Jacqueline Elliott (YouTube video) in which she reflects on personal growth, choosing self-care over perfectionism, and deliberately modeling authenticity for her daughters so they have a positive role model. She describes letting go of unrealistic household standards, resisting "mommy guilt," and feeling proud when her daughter says she wants to be like her mother.
Chapters
You're going to have to put yourself first. I knew, and I learned through my kids that when I try to make everything perfect, I wasn't serving them. But I realized that I wasn't that example. I wasn't the hero to my daughters. They did not want to be anything like me. I wasn't teaching them to be limitless. I wasn't teaching them by example. They were looking at other heroes online. They were looking at other people they wanted to be like. So I said, hey, you know what? I want them to look at me. So I said, hey, you know what? Let them walk around with messy hair. Let the house be dirty a little bit. Let them take care of themselves. I'm not eating cold food anymore. I am going to take care of myself, and I'm going to be that example for my daughters. That's. That's what I had to do. So for those women that are out there, you're going to have the mommy guilt. You're going to have everybody telling your whole family is going to tell you you're not a good wife. What are you doing? You need to take care of your kids. You need to do this. Hey, you know what? My daughter? The most proud moment I've ever had is listening to my daughter tell another woman. I want to be just like my mom. And I would have never been that if I would have just.