Mama, I permit you to cry today.

Because there are so many reasons why you should.

Maybe your kids won’t stop arguing and hitting, and gosh, are you raising brats?

Maybe you’re exhausted from waking up to screams, nightmares, and “mommy, come lay with me!” every night.

Maybe you’re completely overwhelmed; you just don’t have enough hands, patience, or moments in a day to meet everyone’s constant demands.

Maybe you’re done with hearing “Mommy, mommy, MOMMY!” non-stop all day long.

Maybe you're feeling down, completely defeated by motherhood, life, all of it.

We weren’t meant to be unbreakable just because we’re moms.

And when we're in the trenches of motherhood, we break often.

All moms cry: from the new mom who just gave birth to a new identity that she can’t relate to, to the veteran mom dealing with her five-year-old not listening and acting sassy.

We NEED to cry because sometimes motherhood becomes hard to swallow

and we need to sit down and let it out

so we can breathe normally again.

And we don’t need to hide in a closet,

sit in the driveway in our car,

go to the bathroom and lock the door,

or find somewhere alone to cry.

Alone is where our struggles stay a secret.

Alone is where we don't get the hug of gentle arms that tells everything you are that someone else understands your pain and is with you.

So, wiping our tears and pretending to smile isn’t the solution.

Cry open and often, mamas.

Crying is a natural way to reduce stress.

Our struggles and tears don’t mean we don’t love our children and are bad parents.

They mean we’re human.

If we show our kids our tears, they will come to us with theirs, too, instead of trying to fight them back. And then we can be a supportive shoulder to cry on where they don’t have to fight their battles alone.

So, mama, I permit you to cry today.

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