Motherhood is a lot of things.
It’s fulfilling.
It’s joyful.
It’s rewarding.
It’s purposeful.
But there’s one thing it’s not.
It’s not easy.
It’s hard work. And there’s a good reason they say it’s a full-time job.
“It’s not easy being a mother. If it were easy, fathers would do it,” The Golden Girls. Before I had kids, I thought people were exaggerating when they said this. And it wasn’t long after I had my first son I realized. They were right.
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I mean there’s the nighttime feedings, the bottle sanitizing, the consoling—the list goes on.
Not to mention your daily household chores—cooking, cleaning, feeding the cat. You know the deal.
Do you know that salary.com does an annual study on how much a mother would make if the job paid a salary? Yeah. It was a staggering $178,201 for 2019. Crazy right? But that puts it into perspective.
So when I’m feeling overwhelmed, I know it’s OK.
Because I know I’m not alone. Lots of us feel this way.
So how do we cope? First off, we know not everyone gets to be with their kids all the time. We’re so lucky to be able to be there for them. Even if it means making sacrifices for ourselves.
Watching them grow up will always be joyful because we’re molding them into who they’re going to be. And the more we get to be around them, the more we know they’ll turn out to be people we’re proud of.
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As Kate Winslet says, “You always have to carry on. And you can because you have to.”
When I start feeling stressed, I like to go for a walk—by myself. Even something that simple can relax you.
Have Daddy stay with the kids and get out. It’s a time when you can enjoy the scenery, look at the trees, and people watch (but don’t be creepy). You can go to a park and take a stroll or just walk around your neighborhood.
Another thing I like to do is write in my diary. I like to write my stresses down so they’re out of my head and onto paper. For some strange reason, this helps. It’s very liberating and lets me get out emotions without affecting anyone around me.
And lastly, there’s nothing like a nice, hot bath. And be sure to lock the kids out. (Whoa, did I say that?)
Motherhood is so special.
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It’s amazing to be the one they look up to, and the one they come to when they’re hurt so we can make them feel better.
To hear them say I love you, Mommy and give you the biggest hugs. It’s special because it’s not just rewarding but a major blessing to have them in our lives.
Even on the craziest of days when we’re running around like madwomen. Cleaning up messes that recreate themselves 10 minutes later.
Or on days when all we want to do is cry because we got distracted and burned dinner. Again.
At the end of the day, we pull ourselves together as best as we can. And as we tuck them into bed, we realize that having them as our kids is the best feeling in the world.
Because one day, they’ll be gone and out of the house, and we would do anything to have these days back again.
“There’s no way to be a perfect mother and a million ways to be a good one.” -Jill Churchill.