You can love being a mom one moment and then hate it the next.
You can be desperate for some time away from your toddler, and then miss your toddler when you finally get a break.
You can feel that motherhood comes naturally one minute and then admit that it is excruciatingly difficult the next.
You can enjoy being a full-time caregiver for your kids but also really miss your job.
You can feel like the most amazing mom one day and then wonder if you were even cut out to be a mom the next.
You can be so grateful for your children and also desperately miss your life before kids.
You can be excited for the baby you’re expecting, but also depressed because you hate the experience of pregnancy.
You can marvel at how endlessly fascinating your preschooler is but also feel deeply bored at the thought of playing that same game with them over and over.
You can love your job outside the home but also wish you could have more time with your kids.
You can be heartbroken and sad over your miscarriage, but also relieved because you were stressed and not feeling ready for another (or a first) baby yet.
You can have sadness sprinkled into the complete joy of holding your new baby.
You can have scary thoughts that coexist with the happy ones.
You can be all of that. Or some of that. Or none of that.
It’s not bad, or wrong, or a problem.
These emotional struggles we face as moms are hard. They are really, really hard.
But they are not necessarily a problem. [Note: If you are overwhelmed by negative feelings of any kind, please please do reach out for help from a trusted source.]
I say this line to myself everyday:
This is not a problem to solve. This is a paradox to manage.
I heard it first in a lecture by psychotherapist Esther Perel and it applies to so much of life.
This is how human life is, and it is okay.
But let’s talk more about these things, amongst ourselves and within ourselves, because the last thing we need as moms is to feel any more guilt or isolation.
Let’s take down mom guilt, together. Subscribe below to read more stuff like this or visit us at LightUpMoms.com.
Light Up Moms 