Daily Struggles

There are a thousand battles I deal with every day. Sometimes I get so frustrated at myself for stressing about such minor things. Maybe some of you parents know these battles I'm talking about...

Do I take a shower or do I have greasy hair the rest of my life?

Do I let her cry for five minutes to see if she works it out herself or do I pick her up right away?

Do I graduate her to more food/the next carseat/the size up in clothing or am I rushing this whole thing because I want her to be the advanced child?

Do I get really strict with a routine or do we go with a "fly by the seat of our pants" approach? 

Do I leave her in the car while I take the shopping cart back to it's corral or do I take her with me and lug her back to the car? 
One time I left her in the cart while I unloaded groceries. A lady came up to me and startled me when she said, "you really shouldn't do that you know." At first I felt like the most horrible mother for not knowing that wasn't ok to do. Then I got angry at that stranger for telling me how to raise my daughter. Then I took a deep breath and shrugged it off. I'm sure there's going to come a time where I have Penny in the car while I'm unloading groceries and someone makes some comment about it being too hot in there [even though I leave the door wide open or the ac running]. You can never win!

In the short nine and a half months I've been doing this parenting thing I have learned SO MUCH. Not only about parenting, or about Penelope and the tiny little human she is, but about myself as well. In the beginning I really had no idea what I was doing. I still question myself. Sometimes I question Penny. Why child? Why are you crying, you have EVERYTHING you could possible need right now, why the tears? 
Recently I realized this :: Penelope is a baby, fresh on this earth, trying to figure everything out. She's growing, learning, teething, expressing emotion, and just being the baby she knows how to be. I need to remember to take a deep breath and know that Penelope is loved and I'm doing a good job raising her. I also need to remember that I can't control everything. We, as parents, need to give ourselves more grace. We're not perfect, so we're never going to be the perfect parent. 

Cheers to the daily struggles and every day battles we face! 

May we show ourselves love and grace today...and remember take a deep breath!