It’s not that hard to be a good mom. You love your kids. You try to do what’s best for your entire family. You make mistakes, your kids make mistakes. You love them anyway and you try again.

Good moms come in every make and model.

Good moms are everywhere.

But great moms. Great moms are amazing. Because great moms have one thing mastered that us good moms are still just grasping at.

Timing.

That’s right, the difference between good and great all comes down to timing.

For example, when do you feed the kids. Well, you don’t want to feed them too early, they won’t be hungry yet. Not hungry kids, don’t eat unless you are feeding them nothing but ice cream and popcorn.  And us good moms only do that on occasions that really warrant it, like Tuesdays. So, on those non-ice cream/popcorn days, if the kids aren’t hungry the kids don’t eat. Which means that approximately 20 minutes after dinner is cleaned up, the kids will be in the kitchen wanting food.

All moms dislike this.

Of course if you feed the kids too late then you create small ravenous monsters. Monsters who will dissolve into tears and cries of “That’s not fair!” when the table is set and the food won’t be ready for another ten minutes (true story). Monsters that will argue with everyone, cry, fight and become so upset that they can’t eat dinner. Which means that approximately twenty minutes after dinner is cleaned up the kids will be in the kitchen wanting food.

All moms dislikes this.

I’m certain that great moms, can sense the exact moment to start dinner so that it will be ready just as the children become hungry enough to eat and yet not so hungry as to attempt to eat each other.

It all comes down to timing.

Bedtime is another prime timing example. Put the little darlings to bed too early and you’ve earned yourself an extra long session of, “One more drink, Please one more book, I just have to go potty, I’m not tired…” But too late and overtired mania will kick in. And, as everyone knows, overtired mania turns children into tornadoes that swirl around the house causing disruption and destruction everywhere they go.

Also tornadoes do not sleep.

Great moms no doubt sense that the precise moment of sleepiness coming at least a half hour before it happens so they can calculate back when to start brushing teeth. Great moms with their great timing earn themselves a calm and lovely evening tucking in their children, once, before moving on with their night.

It all comes down to timing.

Us good moms try our best. Sometimes we touch greatness for a moment and sometimes we miss it. Sometimes life is grand when everything falls into place and sometimes life’s a mess with a pack of overtired hungry monsters.

But we are good moms, so we love them anyway and try again.

Oh, but to be a great mom and have that timing figured out…