I have so many days where I look at my children acting wild and tell them in a breathy whisper of defeat, "you guys need to really behave, or I can't do this anymore." As in, I can't mom anymore.

And for so many reasons.

Because I’m tired of it, I’m really tired of everyone.

Because my mental health’s suffering.

Because I need time to myself.

Because I’m over nobody listening, the constant fighting, and always having to be the bad guy.

You know the days where we don’t get to shower, the house is a complete disaster, and we look in the mirror and feel like a complete disaster too.

And we snap without much instigation.

The days where we can’t do anything right. We’re grouchy. We’ve cried. Everyone has cried. And we’re mad at everyone, including ourselves.

All moms have rough spots because all humans have rough spots.

But we aren’t alone in that dark spot of “I can't mom today.”

We’ve all been there. We’ll all be there again.

But we mom on anyway because we have to.

So, if this is you right now, be easy on yourself.

Because some days, we're not ourselves because we're human and imperfect, and learning not to feel guilt-ridden is a form of self-care.

And just so you know, your light is shining on all days, even the ones where you want to hide in the bathroom and lock the door.

As moms, we aren't as intentional in caring for our mental health as most people because our children always come first, so no wonder we feel like we “can’t mom today” more often than we’d like to admit.

But it’s okay to have a day where we don’t show up well,

Just like any other job.

And it’s okay not to be okay as a parent, too.

And just like how we forgive our children for their bad days, let’s forgive ourselves.

And tomorrow we will mom better again.

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