Thanks, but no thanks, TIME magazine. We don’t need you to ask us if we are “mom enough” or to define the standards of acceptable or “extreme” parenting.

We mothers ARE enough, without apology or justification. I’d rather focus on ways that I and other mothers can feel positive and confident in our ability to care for and make healthy, informed decisions for our families.

• I am mom enough because I respect that parenting is not a one-size-fits-all category
• I am mom enough because I don’t buy into that guilt trip the media tries to impose on us
• I am mom enough because I know that all parenting begins and ends with love
• I am mom enough because I don’t have to be right
• I am mom enough because I know I’m not perfect
• I am mom enough because I know that being a mother isn’t always easy
• I am mom enough because I know when to trust my instincts and when to trust the experts
• I am mom enough because I am secure enough in myself to not see motherhood as a competition
• I am mom enough to support, respect and maintain a good relationship with my stepson’s mother
• I am mom enough because I support a community of mothers that can include different sexual preferences, race, ethnic groups, economic status or parenting philosophies
• I am mom enough because I want ALL mothers to feel supported on physical, emotional, and spiritual levels
• I am mom enough because I honor motherhood as sacred, transformational rite of passage
• I am mom enough to respect all types of mothers and child caregivers who provide nurturing and guidance
• I am mom enough because I appreciate and welcome the wisdom of other mothers
• I am mom enough because I don’t resent what other mothers may have that I don’t
• I am mom enough because I know that taking care of myself will enable me to take better care of my children
• I am mom enough because I honor, respect and love my mother with all my heart
• I am mom enough…after a cup of coffee in the morning 😉

Mothers, please share with me the ways that you know you are “mom enough”.