If you ever think you've made a big mistake, just remember that in 1788 the Austrian army attacked itself and lost 10,000 men. {Google Fact}

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​You said it: raising kids can be stressful! As moms {and dads} there is this expectation to have it all together, all the time. That’s a lot of pressure! And with that pressure, sometimes we end up bending so far in the wrong direction that we snap, and make a mistake {or two}. And that's hard to admit sometimes. 

But, it's inevitably going to happen!

This has been my struggle this week. In a short period of time, I’ve made numerous errors, forgotten things that needed to be done, and really dropped the ball {and a few breakable things}. In an effort to make myself feel better about my shortcomings, I’ve come up with five reasons why we make mistakes.

1. We make mistakes because it’s hard to be perfect all the time.

It’s easier for me to keep it together for a day than a whole week {it’s even easier to keep it together for five minutes instead}. We shouldn’t expect ourselves to carry that burden of perfection all day, every day. Some of us have lost the ability to embrace imperfection, even though it’s inevitable. And hey - we shouldn't expect perfection from our kids either. It causes us to become even more frustrated with them, and they - in turn - look down on themselves.

1. We make mistakes because our brains need a break.

Most runners will tell you that they are exhausted after a marathon. They exerted themselves for so long their bodies need a break before they try to move on to doing something else. The majority of marathon runners don’t leave one marathon to go run another immediately after. Why do we expect our brains to do that sort of work? Sure, our brains are AMAZING, and they can handle a lot. But, when we are “on” for so long without giving ourselves a break, we are at risk of a major network crash. We need to make sure that after each day's craziness with the kids that we make some time for ourselves. Read a book, take a brief walk, or sit in the bathroom alone and just take a deep breath. 

1. We make mistakes because maybe we think too highly of ourselves.

I do consider myself to be a perfectionist. When I make mistakes, I feel like a failure. I send myself to the corner, sit there, and think about what I’ve done and how terrible that makes me. I must think so highly of myself that when I make mistakes it surprises me - it really knocks me on my butt. Why did I make a mistake? How did that happen? I don’t make mistakes! {mistake #23433048098} Can’t we all just be perfect robots?

1. We make mistakes because it’s good for us to.

What? It’s good for us to make mistakes every once in a while. Sometimes mistakes cause us to slow down and reevaluate the speed at which we’re doing things. Mistakes remind us that we don’t have it all together, and we need to take care of ourselves {assuming that these mistakes are not life-threatening}.Slowing down is a good thing. Our kids are vying for our attention, and when we run around like crazy chickens we aren't able to give them the attention they deserve. 

1. We make mistakes because we’re human.

Since people were created, we’ve been good at making mistakes. Poor Eve – everyone knows about her mistake, and they always will. Her mistake is one of the biggest in human history. I mean, it was the first mistake, ever, in human history {when you feel bad about your mistakes, remember – at least it’s not the worst in human history}. Now, this shouldn’t be our excuse to make mistakes – “Sorry I stole your car Steve, I’m only human.” That’s not going to keep you out of jail, or hold your life together. But, when you are tempted to beat yourself up about something that slipped through your fingers, remind yourself that you are human, and that forgiveness is always there to pick you back up.