It’s no secret that motherhood is hard work — an actual FULL-time job that us nine-to-fivers just can’t quite wrap our heads around.
Especially in their younger years, children require nearly round-the-clock attention that can leave moms exhausted and depleted of what was left of their womanhood.
But in a viral Facebook post by Amy Weatherly entitled I Dread the Day, the mommy blogger takes a spin on the parenting gig that you don’t see coming until about midway through what appears to be a rant about the daily drain of mom life.
Read her inspiring message in full below, and be sure to share it with the mommies in your life who could use this reminder today:
I Dread the Day
My husband walks through the door and I am done. Finito. Finished. Over it. Here, take this baton, because my race has been run, son. I have made Tyson chicken nuggets, and Annie’s bunny macaroni and cheese, and homemade applesauce. I have cut up grapes and peeled oranges and taken the crust off of sandwiches. I have cleaned up whole milk and wiped dirty bottoms. I have pulled over to the side of the road and found a somewhat conspicuous place to pee because somebody couldn’t hold it another second. I have answered “why” 10,000 times and counting. And I haven’t been paid a dime. For any of it.
I have taken care of every single need, big and small, for three other people today, not including myself. Every. Single. Need.
I have rushed backpacks up to kindergarten classrooms. I have cleaned crusty oatmeal off of ceramic dishes. I have picked up entire wads of toilet paper off of the floor, because certain people in this household just can’t stop themselves from unrolling it and leaving it on the tile floor. And I️ have had the “Paw Patrol” theme song stuck in my head from the time my eyes begrudgingly popped open and my Size 8 feet hit the floor running this morning.
And I’ve done it all because they need me so much right now. They need me for just about everything: stopping sibling fights, pouring cereal milk, finding that one missing shoe.
And yes, it drains me on a very regular and consistent basis, but it drains me so good, the same way a runner feels after he completes his marathon and collapses to the pavement. I️ dread the day I’m not drained. I dread the day they won’t need me like this anymore.
I️ dread the day they don’t need to hold my hand when we cross through the Target parking lot. I dread the day they don’t turn around and say “I love you, too” before walking into school. I dread the day they don’t dance with me in the middle of the living room floor.