To the mama hiding in the bathroom with tears rolling down your face, I see you and I see you because this week - I was you.
Motherhood is so hard and sometimes nothing seems simple.
Like when you needed to leave five minutes ago but your kids refuse to get in the car because they need not one stuffed animal for the car ride but every. single. one. of. them.
Or when you have a laundry list of to-do's floating around in your head that you plan to get done once the little one's are asleep but then - they don't. The frustration sets in. You start using a tone that you don't like because you just want to get something accomplished today and have five minutes to yourself. And then here comes the guilt - in this moment you are the mother you promised yourself you never would be.
Why did no one tell you motherhood was this hard? Why did no one tell you the amount of guilt and worry you would feel on a daily basis? How it would change who you are, how you think, your relationship with your husband - everything.
Raising little's is SO hard. We worry are we doing enough, teaching enough, disciplining enough, loving enough - I could go on forever.
But there is also so much beauty in motherhood.
Sure it is messy, exhausting, tiresome and sometimes even lonely but you don't have to go through motherhood alone. You don't have to have it all together every second of everyday. It's OK to say, I can't do everything. I can't be everything to everyone. I am running on empty. That doesn't make you less than.
That makes you human.
It's OK to ask for help.
As mama's we tend to suppress things. We try to be wonder woman. Be all things to everyone when what we really need is a break. So what ends up happening? The emotions pile up, the guilt sets in - blame it on hormones, lack of sleep, the fifteen tantrums you had to deal with today, the argument you had with your husband earlier because you're just freaking tired and the house is a mess.
Whatever the reason, we end up a snotty mess crying in the bathroom.
But here's the thing. So what if we can't do it all? So what if we aren't perfect? You were made to be a mama and not just any mama - their mama. No one can do this better than you can and as long as you are trying with everything you have (like I know that you are because I am right there with you) you. can't. fail.
Who knows that your kiddos only take PBJ with the crust cut off? YOU.
Who knows how to put your babies to sleep at night just the way they like? YOU.
Who knows their favorite shows, favorite books, favorite songs? YOU.
Who can fix a boo-boo with just a kiss? YOU.
You can't compare yourself to the other mama's and their kids that you see on a daily basis. There is no one right way to parent or do life. Your babies love you just as you are. They don't care about everything else that is in our head or that the house is a mess - they just want YOU.
Have faith in yourself and more importantly give yourself GRACE.
Motherhood is an epic journey where most days we feel totally inadequate and ill-equipped but we are in this together. So wipe those tears mama, and stop hiding in the bathroom because you were made for this.
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