Prayer for new mothers

Father, in Psalm 51 David begins, 'Have mercy on me, O God.' That is the simplest prayer in the Bible, and it is the one I keep avoiding. I have been carrying a small shame this week. I sighed at the baby. I judged the woman at the playground. I stayed on the phone when I should have been present. Let me bring it to the older words. Have mercy on me, O God. Not 'fix me.' Not 'explain it away.' Mercy. Receive me again, and send me back to the kitchen with the slate clear. Amen.