Being a mom is hard and whoever says otherwise needs a good dose of reality. I have heard it on the streets and through the proverbial grapevine, today’s society takes it to the next level in mom shaming. With the click of a button and behind the computer screen people will say anything. But they are not walking in your shoes so hold your head high and know you are being the best mom for your babies right now.
You learn as you go, continue to give your child the best you have to offer. I remember those times I would stand in the kitchen with a dish towel limply hanging from my slack fingers, four small mini mes running around voicing their opinions loudly in a foreign language all their own. Bleakly looking at the mound of dishes half washed, the other half still had dried egg stuck to them from morning breakfast and the clock read 1:30. I had a choice, continue to do the dishes or round up my babies. I knew they needed a nap, so I laid the towel to rest on top of the clean dishes, they were in no hurry to go anywhere.
I chose a book from the stack I had picked out at the local library. Telling my children to sit on the couch beside me I began to read, this was just as good for me as it was for them. Making the story come to life with my voice they calmed down, by the time I finished they were so sleepy. I sighed with relief after carrying them to their beds, wanting and needing a nap myself but knowing there was so much to do yet and the clock didn’t stop for me. Finishing the dishes and sweeping the dirt off the floor I felt good to finally get some time to go outside. Making sure they were still asleep I walked out to get the mail.
I checked on the garden, noting the string beans had multiplied like rabbits overnight, knowing full well they didn’t pick themselves I decided to go get a bag and pick the ones that were ready. Asking what I was thinking when I planted them, I couldn’t recall the row being this long, shaking my head I took my haul of beans inside and set them on the kitchen table. Tomorrow I would can some, tonight we would have fresh beans.
Hearing my children stirring in their beds and knowing the house would be jumping from its foundation in a bit I quickly did the bathroom break. Because with small children a mom doesn’t have that kind of privacy unless they are sleeping. The joy and challenge of being a mom comes with a price, we tend to forget to be kind to ourselves, we tend to beat ourselves up over things we should or should not have done. As your head hits the pillow at night and you just want some rest, you feel guilty. I say don’t. Be proud of what you got done today and don’t worry about tomorrow, for it will have its own set of challenges.
You are in the most important job position on the entire planet. You are a mom! Be kind to yourself, pamper yourself whenever you can squeeze in some time. It may be as small as a cup of coffee sitting in your favorite chair, a chapter in a good book, or a nap when they take a nap. Cheers to you, you will survive and have the scars to prove it!!