To the mama who feels like motherhood is more suffocating than satisfying, I see you.
I AM you.
As I lie awake scrolling amidst my daily anxiety and mental to-do lists, my feed is filled with smiling faces and parents matching their kids’ well-pressed clothes, babies with slobbery grins and all the moms just living their best momming lives, writing full reports about how their hearts are overflowing with the joy of motherhood.
And here I am.
Numb.
Don’t get it twisted. I love my kids and I’d throw down you if you looked at them sideways.
But if I’m being honest, motherhood isn’t always joy-filled for me.
Many days, I’m counting the minutes until bedtime. And then, once the bickering, the sibling arguments, the meltdowns, and the madness are over for the day, I find myself watching them sleep.
They seem like perfect angels when they sleep.
The random kisses and thoughtful acorns, rocks, and dandelions they deliver me throughout the day are certainly reminders of their love for me.
But dang.
So, friend, if you are wrestling with the smiles you see on the faces of families of friends,
If you’re fighting to find the joy in motherhood when it feels like other moms were just somehow innately born to do this,
When you find yourself feeling more like a failure than a model of parenting perfection,
Know that you aren’t alone.
Some seasons are harder than others.
Some kids are harder than others.
Some moms struggle in motherhood.
That doesn’t mean you aren’t a good mom.
That means you’re in good company with others of us who are feeling wildly overwhelmed while others just hide it better than we do.
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