The end of the day

Today I had one of those days where I question my ability to parent. One of those days where it seemed no matter what I said or did, someone wasnt going to like it. Alyvia was determined to get into everything in the house and was going to throw a tantrum to end all tantrums when she didnt get her way. McKenzie had apparently decided that she no longer posessed the ability to speak and could only communicate by crying, whining, and making some strange squeeky-grunty noise. These 2 attitiudes, combined with a nagging headache, made for a very tense Mommy. By naptime I think I was already horse from yelling. Natalie and Leah were, thankfully, very helpful with the little ones today. They did their best to help keep everyone entertained and happy.
At the end of the day I find myself wondering if I am doing a good job as a Mom to all of my wonderful girls. They certainly deserve the very best, and I would never want to give them anything but that. But have I spread myself too thin? Do I yell at them too much? Do I expect too much from them? Am I causing them some sort of irreparable damage that will cause them to spend thousands of dollars and countless hours in therapy and make it impossible for them to ever have a truly meaningful relationship with anyone ever in their lives???? (Ok, that one might be a little extreme, but I am overtired and a worrier, so that is what you get when you combine those two things.)
But as I sit here watching McKenzie dance around the livingroom, Natalie lose herself in a book, and Alyvia throw dog food around the kitchen (*sigh* it cant all be serene) I realize that I have done the absolute best that I can do (no, I didn't forget Leah, she is at hockey practice). I have 4 amazing daughters, and wonderful relationships that are unique and genuine with each of those daughters. They are smart, honest, caring, thoughtful, funny, zany, silly girls that make me proud every single day. And I raised them to be that way (Well, Justin may have played a part in that somewhere, but that is for another blog). So I must be doing something right.
I think that every parent has those moments when they question, even if just for a moment, their ability to be the best parent all the time. I think that if we didn't then we wouldn't be giving our very best to our children. To question whether or not we are doing the best possible job, means that we care about that job and the outcome. For a parent to be worried about doing right by their children, that parent must care about their children, or else why would it matter?  So I think that it is in fact a very normal and healthy thing to question it. If you don't, it might be time to sit back and think about what you are doing.
I also think that we all have those days where nothing seems to go right, everyone around you seems ready to throw a temper tantrum, and everything that can possible stress you seems ready to pop up. But it is those days and those moments that make watching your little one dance in the livingroom, throw dog food, read a book, play hockey, or even just sleep all the sweeter. After all, if you never had any bad moments, you would never know how truly sweet the good ones are.