I’ve been feeling lonely.

And you want to know the irony of it? I’m anything but alone.

I have three kids under five home with me all day long. My day’s filled with loud noises, fighting, and absolute chaos…

…yet, here I am feeling lonely most of the time.

I’m lonely because COVID has left me with minimal adult interaction.

I’m lonely because I feel cooped up indoors more than usual.

I’m lonely because I still don’t feel comfortable taking my kids to most places.

I’m lonely because a lot of the places I used to take my kids to during the cold winter months have shut down.

I'm lonely because everyone is having a hard time, and no one has time or energy to make that extra effort.

I’m lonely because I can’t keep my head above water long enough to reach out to others between work at night, momming during the day, and normal hard day-to-day crap.

I’m lonely because people are either too afraid to get together or are not taking enough precautions for my liking.

Even though there’s talk of a vaccine, most of us won’t get it until mid-next year if we’re lucky.

As moms, our primary job is to make sure everyone’s okay and has what they need. And our children and our partners always seem to want something from us,

but no one asks us what we need or want.

So, we often get forgotten.

But we’re not alone in feeling this way. All mothers do.

So, I’m afraid it’s going to be a lonely winter for a lot of mothers…

…myself included.

This post originally appeared on the author's Facebook. Her book "Living FULL: Winning My Battle with Eating Disorder" is available on Amazon: https://amzn.to/2O4mJId