You there. Sitting in your yoga pants with the mom hair look. I have something I want to whisper in your ear today.
You may have seen the Royal Baby Announcements and festivities unfold.
You may have seen the pictures of Duchess Kate headed home from the hospital looking stunningly gorgeous just 12 hours after giving birth.
And you might be feeling just a little bit like you don’t measure up.
Like you’re a loser mom.
Like you’re dropping balls all over the place.
Like you need to lose 10 pounds, find a better makeup routine, figure out a better hairstyle, buy a new wardrobe…
You may be overwhelmed by your to-do list. You may be frustrated that you can’t get your act together more. That you can’t have a cleaner house. That you aren’t more organized. That you ate that extra cookie last night. That you got irritated at your child, yet again, this morning.
Here’s the thing: Kate Middleton is beautiful. She’s amazing. She’s graciously handled all sorts of pressure and scrutiny. She’s the epitome of poise. And I’ve never seen her look anything but stunning.
So the pictures of her looking incredible just hours after giving birth didn’t surprise me. And for a split second, I started to wonder what my problem was that I looked like I’d been run over by a train for at least a few days after giving birth to my kids.
Well, and that some days — even years after giving birth — I look like I’ve been run over by a train. {Here’s some picture proof, if you missed my post yesterday.}
But then I quickly reminded myself: Kate has a whole team of people who help her get ready for big photo-ops like this. If you and I had a hairstylist, a makeup artist, and a dress designer get us ready for something like this, we’d probably look amazing, too!
That’s why we can’t compare ourselves to Kate. Our reality is completely different than her reality.
Comparison is the thief of joy. Always.
So I want to whisper this in your ear today, moms: You are enough.
You don’t need to be thinner or more organized or more fit or have a nicer wardrobe or get a better handle on your finances or find a new makeup routine or get your hair styled differently in order to finally be enough.
Yes, it’s fantastic if you want to work on areas in your life that you could improve in — we all have those areas where we struggle or are weak in (ahem, like me and my laundry issues). But remember that your struggles don’t have to define you. Your failings do not make you a failure.
You are enough… exactly as you are.
P.S. Oh and I thought you might like to see this photo I found of my tired and swollen self at 40 weeks pregnant with Silas. It’s a far cry from gorgeous pregnant Kate — and that’s okay! 
