It’s 8:04pm in Brisbane, Australia and I’m sitting at my computer crying my eyes out. I’ve just lost my shit for the last 45 minutes because Chloe my 3 year old insisted on my laying with her, holding her etc. I know she needs me. Hell, the laundry needs me, my husband needs me, Finlee my 7 year old needs me, my day job needs me, my extended family needs me, hell even the lunches need me to make them. To be honest, some days the pressures of being a good mother are so high, I just want to scream.
The Pressures of Being a Good Mother
It’s unreal the pressures of being a good Mother. The pressure is on from the minute we wake up and until we go to bed. The news, social media, our family, work mates; it’s everywhere.
Don’t get me started on the guilt… Lets see, Chloe’s hair hasn’t been combed in the last 3 days, she wore the same underwear from yesterday, I had no homemade cookies in the house so I gave the kids packaged cookies made from who knows what for morning tea, I insisted they have the Ipad at 5:30am so that I could get 30 minutes extra sleep, I haven’t filled out their baby albums for years and to top it off I beeped the horn and said Fuck when someone almost crashed into us today. Epic parenting.
I’m Doing the Best I Can
Despite all the shit that I perceived as bad today and even after losing my shit on Chloe, there are a lot of things I need to remind myself that I’m doing well at. My kids had breakfast, they had clothes on their back, we had a beautiful morning picking strawberries at the strawberry farm where I was able to hold hands with Chloe, talk with Finlee about the massive strawberries he picked and we created memories.
We danced in the car, giggled at knock-knock jokes, sat in silence and I said the words I love you many times throughout the day.
Despite everything that happened today, I hope my kids know that I love them.
Tomorrow is a New Day
With tears streaming done my face, I stroked Chloe’s hair softly and whispered in her ear “Mommy loves you so much.” The final words she’ll hear tonight are positive and with my hands holding hers; she’ll go to sleep tonight feeling safe.
Tomorrow is a new day.
The sun will rise and I’ll awake to the sound of Finlee and Chloe’s little feet stomping on the ground as they rush into our bedroom to say good morning. I’ll hug them, cuddle them and remind them that I love them.
Tomorrow is a new day.
To all the other Mothers out there, you’ve got this too. If you haven’t heard it in awhile you’re doing a great job.
Love from one Mother to another,
Angela
xx
Angela is an author, entrepreneur, blogger, mental health clinician and most importantly a mother. She explores various topics related to parenting/children on her blog and also in her three books: 30 Days, 30 Ways for Mothers to Take Care of Themselves, 30 Days, 30 Ways for Connecting with Your Child and Healthy Snack Ideas for Kids. Connect with her on Facebook, Instagram and her website Finlee and Me.
