With it being Mother's Day yesterday, it only seemed fitting to scoop it up then. A book filled with stories from other mamas sharing the struggles and smiles that motherhood brings, on a day celebrating that very essence and person, well sign me up.
Although I'm only a couple of stories in, I like that it is just a collection of experiences and not a 'do this, not that' instructional book or even worse, a glossed over, motherhood is rainbows and unicorns, my life and everything is perfect compilation of lies.
We all know that motherhood is magical.
We grew tiny humans in our very own bodies and that in itself is mind blowing enough.
We get to watch them discover the world and experience things for the first time with a front row seat to the show.
If getting to experience that isn't magical than I don't know what it is.
We are the creators, protectors, and givers of these little lives and I don't know how much I can express my gratitude in being able to experience motherhood.
But motherhood is also hard...
And I'm glad this book explores the struggles that real mamas face.
The struggle that motherhood is also sad, lonely, and frustrating in between those cracks of magicalness.
It's easy to get caught up in the beauty of motherhood when we can easily slap a filter on our everyday life and post it to our social media platform of choice to pretend that everything is gravy and we are seamlessly gliding through motherhood. But it's not reality or atleast not mine, and I wanted to share some of my struggles to lessen the burden and stigma of not being the 'magical mama' all the freaking time.
3 Struggles That Make Me A Less Magical Mama
1. I yell...like alot lately.
Perhaps my cup has runneth dry in the patience department but after telling my toddler a literal million times to do or not do something with complete disregard, I get to my wits end and raise my voice. We are usually pretty good throughout the day with stern warnings but she has been fighting me tooth and nail at bedtime lately and that is where I seem to get worked up the most. I'm trying to work on different methods and routines but in reality, sometimes I do yell 'go the fuck to sleep' minus the curse word. I may not be magical but I'm not a monster.
2. I let her zone out on her tablet/television.
For how much I swore I would never be a mom who would set there kid in front of electronics for an extended time, I am now quickly eating my words. Before my venture into single mom-dom, we would do crafts and learning activities almost daily. It was much easier doing those things when I knew I would have extra hands during dinner, bath, and bedtime. Now that those responsibilities lie solely on me, I use those those two things as a crutch some days so I can get things done around the house or if we both had a long or difficult day at school or daycare. Vegging out sometimes saves both our sanity.
3. I enjoy the time away sometimes.
For how much I long to have my family unit back, I have to admit that on some weekends I enjoy the solitude that comes with her going to her dad's for the weekend. I read an article recently about why children seem to go crazy when they come home to their moms (or perhaps dads, if they're the primary parent) and not around others and it explained that you are their safe space. Where the child keeps it together out in public, at school, with family, or even there other parent....they let loose and release all their emotions on you because they feel safe with you. I have now come to experience that first hand, and while I want Amaya to always feel safe with me and be comfortable in sharing every part of herself, sometimes it is completely draining to manage my emotions as well as hers. I feel like a shitty mom for admitting that but I need those couple hours that she's gone for the weekend to regroup and to set my best mom foot forward for the following week ahead.
How are those for #momtruths?
I know there are much bigger and smaller struggles we all face as mamaa and I would love if you shared yours,
What are the struggles you face as mom?
How do you deal?
Is your guilt and anxiety over mamahood at its peak or in its vslley?
Please do share.
1. I have zero patience some days. My daughter is VERY strong willed and exactly like me which you would think would give me an edge on this parenting thing. It doesn't, it makes it SO much harder.
ReplyDelete2. The tv is on constantly.
I have read the research that shows how terrible tv time is and feel guilty on the reg. About it but I need to clean, cook, shower, be still and contemplate life. The TV aids in this aspect.
3. I need alone time.
It makes me a better mom, to blast early 2000 pop hits, play with make up, give myself a manicure or what have you. If I don't get alone time I seriously impacts my mood, my parenting and my wife-ing abilities.
All of these things make me feel like a terrible mother, that I am lacking in some way and ruining my child for life. But reading "confessions" from other moms, like this one let's me know that we are all in this and not alone.