The Sweetest Mother's Day Gift!

Dear stay-at-home moms,

After one week of isolation, I wanted to tell you that you are the real MVPs of motherhood. I know I will probably get some backlash from everyone but listen here, you are my heroes! I’m a working mom. I teach middle school science and at 3:00, I clock out of that job and clock in to my second job of being a mommy. Some days I am completely exhausted by time I arrive at my second job but with dinner, homework, playtime, and bed, the night goes by pretty quickly.

When our governor said schools would be closed for two weeks I had big plans. I wanted to clean out the closets, deep clean the house, donate items, and watch some serious television. This was going to be a nice relaxing break while hunkered down due to the pandemic. But by the weekend, I accomplished zero of those items on my to-do list minus the television. I’ve now listened to Frozen 2 so many times, I think I’m from Arendelle at this point.

RELATED: What if I’m Just Not a Good Stay-at-Home Mom?

From the moment my kids woke up, it was if I’d laced up my tennis shoes for a marathon.

I’ve been cooking, cleaning, changing diapers, and completing school work day in and day out. I’ve had to search for ways to entertain them throughout the day so their brains don’t rot on technology. I’ve eaten the crumbs from their plates as lunch. I took a shower but I never once actually got ready because I didn’t have time to. This week I went to bed more exhausted than working the whole week. Just when I thought I had a pattern down, the little tiny monsters would come at me from a different angle. The bickering, the fighting, the craziness and guess what another month of isolation and NO END in sight!

SAHMs, you are my heroes because you do this daily. You give all of yourselves to your children every single day. After one week, I realize you rarely get a break, eat a full meal, or have the chance to get dressed and you wake up the next morning and do this again. You don’t get a chance to close the office door, clock out, or gossip with colleagues.

RELATED: What Do Stay-at-Home Moms Do All Day?

I hear SAHMs say, “I’m just a stay-at-home mom!”

Sister, you are so much more than that.

You are a mom, teacher, worship leader, grocery grabber, entertainer of the year, and an amazing individual. You are the heart of your children’s physical, social, and emotional well-being and what an awesome job that it.

SAHMs, I know I’m not cut out for this job but I’m glad I get a glimpse of what your daily life looks like. You really do work way harder than I do and you are the unsung heroes of the century.

Friends, if you know a stay-at-home mom, buy her some wine or ice cream, because I know now after spending a week in their shoes, SHE DESERVES IT!

Out of the Spin Cycle is a serious game-changer for motherhood. We can’t put it down! Don’t have time to sit and read? You can listen here, on Audible.

Recommendations in this post contain affiliate links. Her View From Home may receive a small commission if you choose to purchase.

So God Made a Grandmother book by Leslie Means

If you liked this, you'll love our book, SO GOD MADE A GRANDMA

Order Now!

Dana Brady

I'm Dana or Dana Sue when my parents used to get fired up about something. I run a tiny blog called Live Simply Blessed which was created on a whim! Through my writing, I hope to encourage others to be strong and courageous. I'm a wife, a mother to four little people and a full-time middle grades educator who runs on caffeine and exercise. I'm passionate about my family, my faith, and adoption. Follow me on Instagram at live_simply_blessed for some crazy photos of me, the ringmaster, and the circus I run here in Kentucky. 

Soon There Will Be No More Breakfasts To Make

In: Grown Children, Motherhood, Teen
Ten boy eating breakfast at kitchen counter

T-minus 44 days until a new beginning- Math has never been my strong suit or my favorite subject, but it will be about 19 years spent rising and trying to shine in our house. Nineteen years of prepping one, two, or all three of our sons to get up and ready for school. Nineteen years of making breakfast. Nineteen years of making lunches. For those of you in the thick of it right now, you know exactly what I mean. I think my husband Steve and I have it down to a science now. If we had to do it...

Keep Reading

I’m Going to Tell You the Things Your Mom Should Have Told You

In: Living, Motherhood
Mother with three grown daughters

During my oldest daughter’s freshman year of college, I started being haunted by a recurring dream of an old-fashioned suitcase—one of those hard-sided ones that’s as big as they come. In the dream, when I open the suitcase, it’s overflowing with clothing, shoes, and all kinds of stuff that belongs to me and each of my three daughters. Everything in the suitcase is all jumbled together. Nobody else in the dream is worried about sorting through everything, but I am totally stressed about it. To top it all off, I have to deal with this suitcase while preparing for a...

Keep Reading

The Half-Dressed Mom and Love in the Details

In: Motherhood
Woman sitting with coffee cup and book on bed

I am a proper mom. Not fancy, not prim—practical. I am dressed for the time of day, always. That is simply who I am. Except for this morning. This morning I was in a towel, bracing the bathroom counter, writhing in pain, and trying not to scream loud enough to disturb the neighbors. I had seen a specialist just the day before. He’d said I needed six weeks to heal before they could do further exploration. What he hadn’t said—what I hadn’t understood—was how much the healing itself would hurt. My 23-year-old daughter, Aislyn, found me like that. Panicked. Half-dressed....

Keep Reading

Mommy, Will You Play With Me?

In: Kids, Motherhood
Boy sitting in middle of toys smiling

With four kids at three different schools, our days are full. Between sports practices, music lessons, clubs, rehearsals, games, meets, and playdates, it feels like we’re constantly heading somewhere. I love that my children are involved in activities, but occasionally, it’s nice to have some downtime. When I get a text or email that a practice has been canceled, it’s usually a huge relief. Last week, after-school sports were cancelled due to heavy rain. When I picked up my youngest son from school, I told him we’d be going straight home for the rest of the afternoon. He looked surprised....

Keep Reading

Could We Take a Page from the ’80s and Stop Overparenting?

In: Kids, Motherhood

I have a confession: Yesterday I let my 11-year-old play with fire. Like literally. We live in the country, there is still wet snow on the ground, and he’s done it with his dad at least 20 times. But yesterday was the fifth consecutive day of no school, and probably the twentieth consecutive day of him asking to have a small fire without dad. Part of me did it out of laziness. Part of me did it out of selfishness. And part of me did it out of nostalgia. Here’s the thing—when I was 11, I was already babysitting (like...

Keep Reading

God Carries Me Through the Deep Waters of Change

In: Faith, Living, Motherhood
Woman at the beach as waves come in

“Ahhh!” My underwater scream garbled in my snorkel tube as the manta ray’s cavernous mouth swept a hand’s distance from my face. My fingers tightened around the surfboard until my knuckles ached. My arms trembled. I jerked my head side to side, searching for my daughters, Mia and Megan. Recent college graduates, they had joined me on one last mother-daughter vacation before launching their adult lives. They floated easily on the vibrant Hawaiian water, relaxed, trusting. I wanted to borrow their calm. Earlier, our guide had explained that the LED lights built into the surfboard attracted plankton the way college...

Keep Reading

Faith After a Rare Disease Diagnosis

In: Faith, Motherhood
Family smiling in posed photo

My pastor frequently speaks of “kid pain” and acknowledges there’s nothing like it. I can testify to that. After nine months of uncertainty and unexplained issues following the birth of our now 4-year-old daughter, Harlow, we finally received her diagnosis of Pyruvate Dehydrogenase Complex Deficiency (PDCD), a life-limiting mitochondrial disease with no cure and no FDA-approved treatments. It was heartbreaking. In moments like these, a parent can fall into complete desperation. You go through a range of emotions almost too fast to name: fear for your child’s life; anxiousness about how much time you’ll get with them; overwhelming grief. And...

Keep Reading

Good Mothers Bake from Scratch, and Other Lies I’ve Believed

In: Motherhood
Smiling women in selfie outside

I am standing at the kitchen counter, spooning banana mix into a muffin tin, when my daughter makes a proposal. “How about dis . . . ?” Presley begins, pausing for dramatic effect. “How about I put four chocolate chips on each muffin because dat’s how old I am?” I smile at her logic. Once every pink polka-dotted liner is filled with batter and topped with exactly four chocolate chips, I place both tins on the middle rack and set a timer. Presley runs out of the room and returns with her plastic step stool, placing it directly in front...

Keep Reading

My ‘Dusty Son’ is 5

In: Living, Motherhood
Little boy holding out dandelion bouquet

As moms, we categorize everything. Girl mom. Boy mom. Wine mom. Outdoor mom. Farm mom. City mom. Now there’s been an uptick in social media trends about exposing our girls to worldly and fancy experiences so someday they’re “not impressed by your dusty son.” I won the parenting jackpot (in my humble opinion) and have an older daughter and a younger son. He’s five. Not a grown man making real-world decisions. Not a college kid learning how to adult. He’s five. He loves dinosaurs and Mario. His big sissy and his Great Dane. He is incapable of cruelty and is...

Keep Reading

These Little Moments Are Everything

In: Motherhood
Mother embracing young child who is kissing her cheek

I almost missed it, my little one. How your eyebrows lift in quiet concentration as you carefully place each block, adding a new wall to your tiger castle. The way you say “scoop over, mom” and shuffle closer to me until our legs touch. “Just one second, bud.” The mantra of all busy moms. I almost missed your blonde hair flying wild as you bounce on the trampoline, that belly laugh that makes the whole world feel soft. I almost missed it. How you close your eyes as you crack the biggest, cheekiest smile when I tickle your belly, giggling...

Keep Reading