Parental Liberation

I'm going on a short rant today.  You were warned! Ideally, we- my husband and I- are not where we want to be, and I'm not ashamed to admit that.  Parents are always so pressured by others to be more sophisticated or "put together" just because they are parents.  But that's not what matters or even how life works out for most.
After children, whether you have one or nine kids, you are still a human with flawed areas. Almost automatically, you become a more loving, caring, and protective person, and that changes you. But the rest of your life goes on as usual.  What I'm saying is, having a child doesn't make your credit score magically skyrocket, and it definitely doesn't pay your bills or make your boss less of a prick.  I am admittedly still learning about being a successful adult. I have budgeting articles pinned and a not-even-half-way checked off to-do list from 2 weeks ago.  I forget to dust the window sills, and we regularly have to pay late fees, because I forgot to call the money in the day before.  I have plenty of growing to do; I'm far from put together. But I'm a continuous work-in-progress, and so is my husband.  Every day we get closer to our goals; every single day we are trying, not only for ourselves but for them.
Meanwhile, our three kids adore us; they're happy, decently clothed (when in public), intelligent, & well fed.  Because of this, I've completely given up on being the "best mom", and decided to just be "Skyland, Azariah Parker, and Noelle's Mom"- which I assure you I am more qualified for than anyone else on this planet!  As their parents, we give them all we can, every day. We support them, we love them, we cherish them, we encourage them.  We make memories, and we enjoy life together.  They don't care that we don't own a house; they don't care that our car is still in the shop.  All they care about is the now, and all that they see or know about is the present.  So taking a page from their books: I'm done caring about others' thoughts or opinions on how we should live or raise our children.  We will keep working towards a future, but we will focus on enjoying now.  As long as their health, happiness, and well-being are not at risk, we can make any decision about our family that we want and that we feel is best.
I know I'm kind of all over the place, I have a lot on my mind. I'm just posting today to say: there's something liberating about letting go of the impossible demands and expectations of the world and those around you and living for yourself and your family. I have freed myself and I thought I'd let y'all know.