I drove drunk with my kids: Forgiving yourself for huge mistakes

Shame is so powerful and painful, but that doesn’t have to be the end of your story. This week’s podcast episode dives deep into my 5 most shameful parenting mistakes, starting with driving drunk with my kids.

Listen now on Apple, Spotify, or where ever you listen to podcasts.

Ugh, I don’t want to tell this story. It’s a gross one. It’s a shameful one.

I’m sharing this story because we have all made huge mistakes.

Hopefully yours isn’t as bad as mine. But if it is, I’m here to let you know that you can forgive yourself and move forward. What you did may be horrible and wrong. But it doesn’t have to be the end of the story.

In this week’s episode of She Just Glows: The Podcast, I’m sharing my 5 hugest, most horrible parenting mistakes. I mean, the title here says it all. They’re horrible mistakes. Illegal mistakes. Shameful mistakes. Disgusting mistakes that make me truly feel sick to my stomach as I type this.

Here’s the thing about making huge mistakes. That doesn’t have to be the end of the story.

Two months after my drunk-driving-with-kids incident, I had another rough realization after a night of camping with our kids, and I decided to stop drinking. That was 13 months ago and I still haven’t had a drink.

See, that’s the thing. I learned from it.

A couple months into my journey, I was on a call with my alcohol-free coach and desperate, uncontrollable sobs took over my entire body. I literally could not control my body. I was shuddering with shame. The grief rolled through me in sickening waves.

“I will NEVER forgive myself. I am so disgusted that I ever put my kids in that position. It is totally disgusting and unacceptable.”

And I’ll never forget what she said.

“Changed behavior is the best apology. And you are changing the behavior.”

In that instant, I felt relief and self-forgiveness blanket my heart. I haven’t totally forgiven myself yet. I’m not sure I ever will. But I can tell you today that I am on that path.

What You’ll Learn In This Podcast Episode:

How to learn from the guilt and release the shame from huge mistakes
The dirty details of my top 5 most shameful mothering mistakes
My 4-step formula for forgiving yourself for huge mistakes, no matter what they are
The exact script for apologizing to your kids
The remorse-listening exercise to help you let go of the guilt for good