This morning, after my daughter had gone to school, I prepared breakfast for my toddler. As he happily played with his dinosaur toys at the dining room table, I microwaved a frozen pancake and poured some syrup on top. I brought the plate over to him and began cutting up the pancake into bite size pieces.

"Good job, Mommy!" he delightfully exclaimed.

Feeling somewhat guilty about the unimpressive breakfast I had just delivered, I laughed to myself and started to dismiss the comment as I knew he was just mimicking what he has been told many times.

Silly boy, I thought to myself.

Then I let it sink in for a second — really sink in — and I smiled.

"Thank you, buddy. Sometimes mommies need to hear that, too," I replied.

Because it's true, isn't it? Don't we all need to hear that we are doing a good job every now and then? We know our little guys need it, but don't we crave that validation, too? A little affirmation from someone else can sometimes be the encouragement we need to face the next challenge in our day.

As mothers we are hard on ourselves. Oh, so hard. We hold ourselves up to impossible standards. We say things to ourselves that we wouldn't dare say to another person. But, the truth is we don't have to be perfect. Sometimes it just takes a little nudge from outside of ourselves to remind us that we are doing just fine.

So, now I want to pay it forward and let you know that you are doing a good job, too. Because, you are.

Even if you forgot it was Spirit Day at school today —

Good job.

Even if your house is a mess —

Good job.

Even if you are always running late —

Good job.

Even if your kids had too much screen time today —

Good job.

Even if most of the time you feel like you are barely holding it all together —

Good job.

Think about it. Are your children happy? Are they loved? Are they safe? Then, yes, you are doing a good job.

Keep loving your babies and doing your best for them. And if you do that, whether you serve frozen pancakes or homemade Belgian waffles for breakfast, you are doing a good job, mama.

*This post originally appeared on Mia's Facebook page.

To read more from Mia Carella, visit her website at www.ThisMomWithABlog.com, and follow her on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest.

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