Mom Guilt

I have been angst ridden with mom guilt this morning.  Angel got her fingers smashed in the car door right before going to school.  Archer ran in and got her an ice pack while I calmed her down.  Then off we went to school.  I called the school on the way to let them know that Angel was coming straight to the office with an injury.  Less than 5 minutes after she got hurt I dropped her and Archer at the school and then left to take Picasso and Princess to school. 

And oh the GUILT!  How could I leave my child on the curb when she was injured.  Not only injured, but crying.  Did I do the right thing?  Should I have kept her with me?  All the what if's and I should have's started piling on.  I called the school after dropping the two younger ones off and Angel is fine.  The RtI (Respone to Intervention) teacher was there when I dropped Angel and Archer off and walked the kids personally into the office.  She examined Angel's fingers more closely, got her an ice pack and gave her time to calm down.  By the time I called Angel had gone to class.  Phew, disaster averted!

I had Angel's best interst at heart when I dropped her at school.  There is really nothing I could have done at home that they didn't do at school.  She's fine and if she's not they will call me.  Yet that guilt still nags.  How many times a day do we question whether we have done, or are doing, the right thing with our kids?  How often do we feel that we should have done something differently?  Said something different?  Taken a few more moments?  Why is it that dad's don't seem to feel the same guilt?  How fair is that!  As moms we seem to put way too much pressure on ourselves.  I won't ever be a PERFECT parent, but I can strive to be the BEST parent that I can be to my kids.  At the end of the day I don't know that there is a whole lot more that we can ask of ourselves.  If there is, well maybe someone could fill me in.