The "S" Word

I was really sad the other day when my sweet little Mia said the "s" word. No, not that "s" word. The other one. S-t-u-p-i-d. She was sitting on the toilet and sort of missed and made a bit of a mess. Not really a big deal, but she was upset and called me in to help her clean up. That's when she told me, "Mommy, I am stupid." It broke my heart. I know it would bother me if she started calling other people stupid, but it just pains me to hear her call herself that. I feel like a lousy mom since I am pretty sure she heard it from me. And the worst part is that I was saying it about myself because I was frustrated about messing something up (that really wasn't that big of a deal, either). It's stuff like this that stresses me out the most about parenting. I want my kids to be well-adjusted and capable of succeeding in this big crazy world (hopefully better than I have done). The problem is how to achieve that when I have so many hang-ups, and of course, I model my fears, anxiety, and self-esteem issues whether I mean to or not.