Before kids, I didn’t realize that motherhood would be all encompassing. Despite the warnings, I didn’t understand how having a baby would change the make-up of my brain; how I would want to be near my baby at all times, even when she wasn’t such a baby after all.
I yearn for mom friends, for a life and activities of my own. I want a busy career and a life outside of the insanity in my home. I want frequent date nights and spontaneous adventures. But I can’t leave my living room. That’s where my babies are.
I can’t tear myself away in the same breath that I say I need a break. While relaxing with a book or in front of the tv, I make meal plans and grocery lists, I order Amazon packages filled with educational games, items for school, new clothes, etc.
But one day I woke up and decided to embrace it. Yes, I need a life outside of motherhood, but I’ll only be a mother of little kids for a short while. I’ll only have bedtime snuggles and chubby hands reaching out for my bear hugs for a few years. I can go on my date night or do my yoga class later. Right now, I am tired, and sometimes I don’t feel like doing anything, and that’s okay too.
In our hustle culture where supermoms are celebrated, we are saying it’s okay to take a breath and not be the mom who’s everything; the perfect PTA mom, the gym buff, the beauty queen, the corporate executive, and the social butterfly. It’s okay to pick one and run with it. It’s okay to take it easy, and enjoy this crazy motherhood ride.
It’s not to say I won’t be taking advantage of activities just for me, but it’s about giving myself grace when I really don’t feel like going to a moms event, when I rather watch Encanto for the 100th time with my daughter on the couch. It’s about having less guilt for sitting around in my pajamas, even when I bought new outfits to show off.
There are already so many expectations of what moms should and shouldn’t do. It’s about balance. Sometimes you need to push yourself to get out of bed for your workout because you know it is good for you, and sometimes you will wake up early and get Dunkin. Sometimes you will step out of your comfort zone at a moms event, and sometimes you will sit at home alone reading a book. Do what makes you happy in the moment, and you won’t regret it.
I yearn for mom friends, for a life and activities of my own. I want a busy career and a life outside of the insanity in my home. I want frequent date nights and spontaneous adventures. But I can’t leave my living room. That’s where my babies are.
I can’t tear myself away in the same breath that I say I need a break. While relaxing with a book or in front of the tv, I make meal plans and grocery lists, I order Amazon packages filled with educational games, items for school, new clothes, etc.
But one day I woke up and decided to embrace it. Yes, I need a life outside of motherhood, but I’ll only be a mother of little kids for a short while. I’ll only have bedtime snuggles and chubby hands reaching out for my bear hugs for a few years. I can go on my date night or do my yoga class later. Right now, I am tired, and sometimes I don’t feel like doing anything, and that’s okay too.
In our hustle culture where supermoms are celebrated, we are saying it’s okay to take a breath and not be the mom who’s everything; the perfect PTA mom, the gym buff, the beauty queen, the corporate executive, and the social butterfly. It’s okay to pick one and run with it. It’s okay to take it easy, and enjoy this crazy motherhood ride.
It’s not to say I won’t be taking advantage of activities just for me, but it’s about giving myself grace when I really don’t feel like going to a moms event, when I rather watch Encanto for the 100th time with my daughter on the couch. It’s about having less guilt for sitting around in my pajamas, even when I bought new outfits to show off.
There are already so many expectations of what moms should and shouldn’t do. It’s about balance. Sometimes you need to push yourself to get out of bed for your workout because you know it is good for you, and sometimes you will wake up early and get Dunkin. Sometimes you will step out of your comfort zone at a moms event, and sometimes you will sit at home alone reading a book. Do what makes you happy in the moment, and you won’t regret it.
