Moms of 2020,

We need to learn to pass the baton.

Today for the first time ever, I clocked out. I was DONE when my husband came home.

You see, normally, I do everything, including putting the two girls to bed with my husband after I put the baby to bed.

Because I’m pretty good at mom-shaming myself.

Well, today, I had it with everyone.

So, when he came home at seven, I passed the baton.

And let me let you in on a little secret---

the world didn’t swallow me whole.

In fact, it didn’t even open a crack.

My middle child still needed me to put her to sleep in the end, but…

…we all survived without mommy at the helm.

My point: I’m feeling bone-tired, and I know you are too.

To survive the rest of this pandemic, we're going to need to sharpen our relay race skills.

Because mama, I see you, sitting bleary-eyed at the table, feeding the baby while the toddler screams something inaudible as milk dribbles out of her mouth, down her chin, and onto the floor that you’ll have to clean later.

The air thick with the aroma of coffee is the only pull toward wakefulness. But coffee is a temporary fix for the sleep-deprived. It can’t fix worn-out and bone-tired because you need more than a good night's sleep to stop surviving and enduring and come back to life.

Because being a mom in a pandemic is exhausting…

It’s a bone-tired that’s leaving us zoned out in a zombie-like sway.

Bone-tired is not knowing when you’re going to sleep a full night again.

Bone-tired is trying to navigate a pandemic with little kids.

Bone-tired is a body ache where the mental makes the physical hurt.

It's exhausting always worrying about other people and putting their needs way before ours.

And there is so much physical exertion keeping these little people alive. It’s feeling like we hiked 100 miles, but we haven’t worked out in weeks.

There’s a certain level of tiredness that equates to insanity, and as mothers, we cross that line every day—and that level of worn-out-ness really hurts.

But we’re not tired alone--

and we can’t forget to use those supports who are ready to race.

So, pass the baton,

because being a mom is utterly exhausting,

and it’s okay to need a water break and orange slices.

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