On Mother's day, many of us working mom's receive flowers, cards, phone calls and maybe even breakfast in bed (often cereal or burnt toast and a very messy kitchen, but it is the thought that counts).  Or maybe some of us will be spending some of our special day still responding to emails between hugs and kisses.

No matter how you are spending your Mother's Day, many of our Mother's Day wish lists include intangibles, especially "The Mores of Professional Moms:" more time, more patience, more opportunities for "do-overs," more help, more calm, more beach days, and dear heaven - more sleep!

And we also wish for less:  less nagging, less whining, less tantrums (our children's and our own), less tears (our children's and our own) less compulsion to manage our children like we manage our employees, less late-nights, less homework (our children's and our own), less re-learning Geometry, and most of all, less guilt.

So to our fellow professional moms, on this Mother's Day, remember to give yourself permission: permission to not be perfect, permission to put the iphone and ipad away for a block of time without feeling guilty, permission to make mistakes because you are still human (no really - you are still human), permission to ask for help, permission to say you can't do everything, and permission to believe that despite your imperfections and mistakes, you are a good role model for your children.  You are demonstrating leadership, responsibility and time management in your profession and in your home.  Despite your best efforts, you are also showing your children that you do not have to be perfect to be a great leader and an even greater mom.

Happy Mother's Day!

Image Credits: From flickr, Creative Commons license. Image of Working mom by Ran Zwigenberg.