Today was hard.

 It was long. 

Like one of those in the trenches of motherhood posts you read by women with the kinds of days you haven’t experienced. Yeah, that was my day today.

Somewhere between 2-year-old molars, toddler meltdowns, carpet stains, and clingy hands, 7-year-old emotions, spilled drinks, and thrown food, and the 18th scraped knee . . .

I started to feel inadequate and overwhelmed. 

Then tonight, while my 23-month-old was covered head to toe in wet sudsy water, in the middle of scrubbing off the dirt and grime from a day of play, he reached up for a hug.

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“Momma,” he said as he reached his little soapy hands up and around my neck, “Yuv you.” So we hugged, his little, soapy body covering my shirt and shoulder in wet baby suds.

And that was it—at that moment, I was exactly what he needed. For whatever reason, no matter what, he knew mommy would never turn away a hug. That I’m always there for him when life is too much for his tiny, growing mind.

I’m mommy, and I’m enough. I’m exactly the person God chose to be in his life.

Moms, it’s OK to feel inadequate. To not feel enough some days. To feel overwhelmed to the point of tears. It’s OK to ask for help, to feel relieved when your husband or a grandparent walks through the door to ease the workload of tiny hands and feet.

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I prayed for patience and kindness out loud as I held my daughter’s hand for bedtime prayer. I want her to know I’m human, that I need Heavenly strength daily. And in my mind, I prayed to always remember that I’m exactly the mom they need.

If my toddler only knew what that soapy hug meant and how much I needed to remember that. These days are few, soak it in, momma—you are enough.

Originally published on the author’s Instagram page