Many people probably wonder why the hell I write about everything in my life so publicly. Why would I air my dirty laundry for the world to read? Why would I post all the bad things I have done as a mom for my co-workers, acquaintances, high school classmates and random dude on the side of the road to read? Why?

Sometimes I ask myself the same question.

I get a negative comment or rude message and I get upset. I think, “Get your shit together Jamie. Why are you doing this? Everyone in the world doesn’t need to know about your life and your pregnancy and your toddler’s bad habits. People probably think you are a shitty mom that doesn’t care a bit about your child.”

But then I think about why I started all of this in the first place. Because being a mom is the hardest thing I have ever done in my entire life. And I remember how scary and lonely it can be. Not many people put the truth out there. All they do is talk about what a hot mess another mom is, or gossip about why so and so down the street let their four-year-old play in the snow without the proper boots on. Or that I posted a picture of my toddler in his high chair eating McDonalds. OMG, what an awful person. Yes I know how the food from McDonalds is made and I will offer you no explanation of why I drove through McDonalds instead of Subway.

There are so many other bad things going on out there that we could focus on. What happened to working towards world peace instead of shaming me for letting my toddler play under the bleachers at a baseball game?

Is shaming another mom going to get you anywhere in life? It might make you feel better about yourself for a few minutes, but let’s be real. It’s a total asshole move that needs to be called out.

Yes, I am calling out the mom-shamers or dad-shamers or furbaby-shamers. Can’t we all just get along? It’s time to stop judging everyone and actually walk a mile in their old ass tennis shoes.

Life is hard. Parenting is hard. Working is hard. Being a freaking adult is hard. Staying at home with your kids is hard. It’s all hard.

So the next time you want to gossip about the mom that didn’t help their kid build the igloo for their fourth grade project, realize that there is most likely an extremely valid reason they couldn’t help.

To all the other struggling moms out there, I feel you. I want to share my struggles because we all have them. I don’t need to be ashamed and neither do you.

I talk about real life, and real life gets messy. We all need to talk about more than our highlight reel.

So just for good measure:

• I am pregnant and drank coffee this morning.
• My toddler has been wearing rain boots for the last three days because I have no idea where his real shoes are.
• I put Henry to bed early last night so I could watch The Bachelor.
• I took a nap this weekend instead of cleaning the house.
• I cry multiple times a week for no apparent reason and it is starting to get a little embarrassing.

So the next time you are feeling like a super shitty mom or dad, remember you can always come to my blog. I will be here with open arms, waiting to tell you it’s all okay.