Fancy a competition to find the most ridiculous cause of maternal guilt?

[Janni]

My 11 year old DS is becoming rather grumpy and said today 'I don't like smiling'.

'No, it can't be my fault' I told myself 'I smile all the time.. Unless it's because I smile too much and he's reacting against that...'

Now stop it, Janni! Repeat after me, you are the best mummy of ds in the whole world!

Now we've got that out of the way, perhaps there's something bothering him at school? or he's just turning into a stroppy teenager early? (mine are much younger, so have no experience of this age).

Oh, and at the moment I'm feeling guilty because we can't afford to buy dd2 new clothes, but dd1, of course, gets new whenever she grows a few more inches ...

And then there's the fact that I had to chuck dd1's beads away because dd3 is constantly finding them on the floor and trying to eat them ...

and dh has been getting up in the nights for the last week without complaining ...

and perhaps dd1 doesn't get enough attention as she's at school all day and when she gets home dd2 and 3 are starting to get tired and wanting tea ...

you see? we could all go on for ever ...

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dd1 is very like me, in that she wants everyone to like her and she doesn't like upsetting people. So if I wasn't the way I am, she wouldn't be.

Santaspetebogelf, so far we've got away with the clothes thing. I put them away when dd1's grown out of them, and when she gets something new I pull out one of her old ones and give it to dd2. (cue dd1 large theatrical wink at me )

When DS ate cat food at 5 months I had to ring the Whiskers care line to see whether it would kill him. Apparently all pet food has to be fit for human consumption. The lady on the phone knew the answer without looking it up so she must get asked about it quite frequently.

I now worry that DS is some kind of psychopathic idiot but then I remember that he is 2 and it is all quite normal (apparently?)

DD's first finger foods were "cat cheerios" from my parents' cats' bowl. A sort of early "baby led weaning"

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guilt

I see now.

I've been pondering for ages about what maternal quilt might be and why this thread isn't in good housekeeping or what ever.

Guilt, quilt. I need new contact lenses.