A good mother is not expected to be perfect and self-sacrificing to the point of martyrdom. She has her own emotional baggage, her own scars, her own needs. She may have work that she doesn’t want to compromise, and there may be times when she’s not available to her daughter. She may lose her temper, and say or do things to her daughter that she regrets. But if her dominant behavior engenders in her daughter a belief in her own value and nourishes her self-respect, confidence, and safety, that mother is doing a good job, whether she’s a wonderful mom or just good enough. She’s demonstrating real love, in a tangible, reliable way, to her child.