Diamond Mums
A friend of ours was recently discussing diamonds with us, after proposing to his girlfriend 
It’s been over ten years since we went engagement-ring-shopping but I still remember learning about the 4 Cs – cut, clarity, colour and carat! Our friend laughed about the fact that synthetic diamonds are often of equal beauty to natural diamonds… the only problem is that they are too perfect!
Too perfect. It’s something I’ve been thinking about ever since.
“The wonder of a diamond lies in its unmatchable beauty. But every diamond, no matter how magnificent, has imperfections of some kind. These flaws fall into 2 categories: internal flaws are known as inclusions, while flaws on the surface of the diamond are called blemishes.” (source)
The thing is, the imperfections in a diamond are often what makes it unique. They rarely detract from the beauty of the stone, and they can usually only be seen under 10x magnification! Maybe diamonds beat themselves up about their internal flaws and blemishes – but the rest of us see right past them.
You know where I’m going with this, right? What if, as mothers, we are all diamonds?
“The wonder of a mother lies in her unmatchable beauty. But every mother, no matter how magnificent, has imperfections of some kind. These flaws fall into 2 categories: internal flaws are known as inclusions, while flaws on the surface of the mother are called blemishes.”
We beat ourselves up about our internal flaws, and our physical blemishes. Chances are, others see right past them. We compare ourselves to airbrushed, photoshopped, synthetic images of women portrayed in the media, forgetting that these are unrealistic. And worse, while we only see snippets of a celebrity mother’s life, we “fill in the gaps” imagining that ALL of her life is equally perfect.
There are no perfect women. No perfect mothers. No perfect children, or families, or homes. We all have flaws and blemishes that make us who we are. They might mean that perfection is unattainable, but they don’t stop us from sparkling.
You, my friend, are a diamond mum. Perfectly imperfect.
A beautiful perspective to take! We all should stop worrying so much about our flaws
Kate @ Puddles and Gumboots´s last [type] ..Teddy Bear Biscuit Pops
Shucks, I think that I may have a flaw… or two…
It is nice to have the pressure taken off. You are right, there is some internal drive to want to be good enough to live in the pages of a glossy magazine… but I don’t think there’s a big enough airbrush! ; ) Happy imperfect day to you! grace
art house mum´s last [type] ..(house) Confessions of a Learner Gardener
A lovely post Cath, and a great analogy, I enjoyed reading, thanks. We’re the harshest critics of ourselves sometimes aren’t we?:)Sam
Sam Hardt´s last [type] ..My Creative Space – Bunting & A Little Dream Comes True
Love it! Adding this post to my list of ‘pick-me-ups’!
Funny I have been thinking a lot about this lately. I am trying to accept myself as being infallibly human and prone to making mistakes in parenting without applying a lashing of guilt to go with that.
I had great visions of spending the day yesterday with my youngest whilst her sister was at kindy, alas it was terrible, she only wanted her sister and her dad and was not interested in the activities I had thought she would like.
Tonight my 2 1/2 year old summed it up perfectly. In the bath she said “You a good mum, mum. Mum is good. Mum is good Asheleley” to her sister to make sure she knew too. There you have it I am imperfectly imperfect!
The odd blemish makes it all the more valuable really!
So thus, we are all priceless!
Claireyhewitt´s last [type] ..The two year old and the swimming lesson
I love this… and reminds me it is okay to “mess up”… perfect is not possible… that is why grace is essential!
I adore this post. It is exactly what I needed to read tonight.
kate says stuff´s last [type] ..Fragmented
Beautiful post Cath – you are just so wise!
Louisa´s last [type] ..My Style: Elk Accessories
This is a gorgeous outlook on life and motherhood.
Thank you.
tattoomummy´s last [type] ..Wordless wednesday. The List
So very true…and perhaps we are all a lot stronger than we realise – diamonds in the rough
Thank you for this… it actually made me teary when you said “You know where I’m going with this, right?” I felt like you were talking straight to ME! I REALLY needed to hear this tonight. So true. Thank you thank you thank you xxx
what a beautiful comparison, Diamond Mums. I like that, thank you
Marita´s last [type] ..This may be the straw
I have tears. I so needed to read this right now. Beautiful, beautiful post.
I am happy to know a shining diamond as you ****
Angelique
just like a diamond we have our flaws but we are still perfectly besutiful!
Wonderful analogy and a quotable quote “We all have flaws and blemishes that make us who we are”.