Psst. I’m going to let you in on a little secret. But, before I tell you I want you to promise me you won’t call Child Protective Services okay?
Okay, there are days when I just don’t like being a mom. There. I said it.
In fact, there are moments when I just downright flipping hate this job.
My two bosses are demanding, hateful, overbearing, whiny, forgetful, irrational, loud, messy and selfish. They have the most impossible scheduling and they give me virtually ZERO vacation time. The few breaks they do allow me only gives me enough time to clean up my work area before they start screaming and demand me to get back to work.
Mothering is hard work. It’s the most mentally draining job I’ve ever had. Now, I’ve had some jobs in the past that were just flat out mentally exhausting, but NOTHING prepared me for the job of motherhood.
I worked long hours at jobs that required me to be on my feet all day and night. I’ve worked jobs where I was regularly yelled at and cursed at by customers. Nothing prepared me for this job.
I read all the popular parenting books. I joined parenting groups online and in person. I listened to the stories of other parents. I babysat young children. None of it prepared me for motherhood.
I’m not a person who’s big on surprises (so don’t go planning me a surprise birthday party or anything crazy like that). So it was a HUGE shock to me that motherhood didn’t always look like it did on TV or social media. Of course, I knew there would be sleepless nights, sick kids, etc., but I was not prepared for the way that motherhood would challenge me mentally.
Sound familiar?
We’ve been so conditioned by the pretty pictures on social media and the beautiful mythology of pregnancy and parenting that we fail to see the challenges of being a parent until we’re stuck in the middle of it.
Sure, it’s easy to love the fun moments when we’re laughing, cooking together, playing and everyone’s getting along.
It’s harder to love the moments when bedtime lasts for two hours, there are constant meltdowns and incessant questions or bickering between siblings.
Those are the times we need a little reassurance that our bosses aren’t TOTALLY impossible. Those are the times we need to be reminded that we don’t have keep up with the Joneses.
Those are the times we need to remember that we’re all just doing our best with what knowledge we have.
This is why I started writing little reminders to myself on sticky notes and plastering them throughout my house. I’m a visual person, so seeing constant reminders that I was a good mom or other notes of positivity really helped to change my mindset.
When my kids are acting particularly crazy, I can walk to the refrigerator and see the sticky note that says:
“I am grateful for the challenges of this moment.”
I can take a moment to close eyes, take a deep breath and repeat this phrase out loud.
Or when I don’t think I can bare another moment of playing legos with my preschooler, I can glance at the screensaver I made that says:
“I will laugh with my children today.”
Then, I can mentally switch gears, put my phone aside and genuinely enjoy watching him pretend to be a dinosaur or a robot or whatever tickles his fancy today.
I’d love to share these FREE Affirmations for Motherhood with you. I’ve created a set of full-color printables that you can cut out and place them where ever you think you might need just an extra dose of positivity in your day.
These have been a huge mindset shift for me as a mom, especially on those days when my bosses are just being a bit much.
Let me know what you think!
https://laurileeroseberry.com/affirmations
