You are strong. You are Mom.
I have something important to tell you, mama: I don't see you.
Now, don't stop reading just yet. Please hear me out. It's true I don't see you, but I know what you are going through.
I know that these days you are almost always exhausted and fueled by caffeine and anxiety ... I know that more than once a day you scream on the inside, "There's only one of me!" I know you feel deep mommy love, as well as deep mommy guilt, for not being the person you think you should be.
Mia is personally familiar with the days when you just want to run away but instead escape to the grocery store and stay in the car a bit longer than necessary just to savor the alone time. Mia is also aware of the endless to-do lists that stack up while you're trying to raise tiny humans, which can leave you feeling overwhelmed, disorganized, and even flawed.
"I know the weight of responsibility sometimes feels so heavy you can barely move," she wrote in a post on Scary Mommy. "I know you worry that you are not patient enough, present enough, fun enough, or even enough at all. I know all these things because I feel them too. I don't see you, but I am you."
Like me, you wear a brave mask. You smile to hide your stress, even on the bad days. You get up every day, put yourself together, and do what needs to be done. You are strong. You are Mom.
Please remember this the next time you feel like the only hot mess mom at the playground. It may not be obvious by looking around because we all wear our own masks, but you're not the only one who feels like they're dropping the ball in one way or another. It is OK. That is why we have each other. And wine. Or chocolate. You choose.
You got this, mama. Give yourself a break. Having our sh*t together all the time is overrated anyway.
Can You Spot The Kid Drowning In This Public Pool Before The Lifeguard Does?