Dear Tired Momma,
I see it in your eyes. The struggle and the look of desperation. The thing about motherhood is it's insanely difficult. And no one tells you it is. Everyone says it's so dreamy. And you love your baby more than anything. And you are going to just love being a mommy. While this is true, motherhood is hard. It's trying and somedays it's incredibly difficult and you hate it. And that's okay.
You see, Tired Momma, no one tells you that your little miracle baby may not sleep for months. Months they will cry and you will be running on very low hours of sleep. You'll be expected to function. Expected to keep the house clean. Expected to have well dressed kids. Expected to lose all the baby weight. Expected to feed your baby all organic food all the while you are expected to make the said organic good all the while you are expected to keep the landfills from overfilling by using cloth diapers. Being a mom is hard, hard work.
You see, tired momma, you will have days where your baby cries and you accidentally turn off the baby monitor in a zombie-like state. Only to wake up in the morning and realize what you did. You never went in. You feel so terrible. But, it's okay, tired momma. Baby is okay.
You see, momma, you will have days where you feed your toddler Mac and cheese (Kraft, even, not the organic stuff) complete with no veggies or fruit. You'll feel entirely guilty that you don't have a "balanced" meal. And you know what? It's okay. Your toddler will be okay on a meal of boxed food.
You see, momma, there are days where you will allow your preschooler to watch too much screen time because the sound of their voice and their never-ending stories are starting to make you cringe. And. Again. It's okay, momma. Tomorrow will be a better and new day.
The thing is, momma, is too many of us put guilt on ourselves to be perfect. And that just isn't possible. Striving to be something that isn't possible.
You need to think about yourself, momma. And if the occasional meal without organic fruits and veggies helps your sanity- it's worth it.
If you let your child(ren) watch too much tv one day because you just can't handle doing dozens of Pinterest crafts with your kid(s)... Or you just can't handle anymore talking about the neighbor kid's bike... Do it. It's okay. It's worth your sanity.
If baby was up all night with a cold and you eat 7 pancakes instead of going for that jog... You know what? It's okay.
At the end of the day, your babies will never remember if they had balanced meals. They won't remember the occasional day they were allowed to watch tv all day (heck, they will probably love it), or if they had to cry themselves to sleep one night because of an occasional monitor mishap.
You child feels loved. They know they are loved. That is what is important. They don't care about minutes of screen time. They don't judge you for feeding them a plate filled with orange food, and they don't judge you for eating an entire pint of Ben and Jerry's after dinner.
These little love-sucking monsters love you for you. You are their world. You keep them safe. You keep them fed. You are their hero. The person who instantly makes boo-boo's feel better. The person who showers them with kisses. The one who is there to encourage them to eat their dinner with a spoon, to love their sister, and to ride a bike without training wheels.
You are doing an incredible job, momma.
