Sometimes it'll be hard, so hard that you can't think straight. Sometimes you won't trust your instincts. Sometimes you'll feel like you're doing everything wrong. You'll feel inadequate. You'll feel like a failure as a parent.
You'll wonder how everyone else seems to have it together, and then there's you, watching everything fall apart.
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You're going to burn the dinner. You're going to feel like you're being tugged in a million different directions. You're going to feel like you have nothing together. You'll feel like your thoughts and your feelings and your own well-being don't matter at all. You'll feel like you're losing your sense of self. You'll feel disconnected from your partner. Sometimes you're going to feel completely and utterly lost.
And it's okay to feel that way. Actually, it's totally normal.
Collapse right there on the kitchen floor and cry. Let out all of the stress, the pain, the confusion and uncertainty. Let the weight of it all fall off of your shoulders.
You'll also remember that comparison is the thief of joy, and even if Suzie looks like she's got everything running smoothly and perfectly, she doesn't.
Then, you know what you'll do? You'll remember that you brought this little being into the world for a reason, and he belongs to you just as you belong to him, and when he looks into your eyes and grins, that smile is your smile and that laugh is for you and you alone.
You'll remind yourself that you are a mom, and you've got this. You'll remember how strong and capable you are. You'll also remember that comparison is the thief of joy, and even if Suzie looks like she's got everything running smoothly and perfectly, she doesn't. None of us do. We're all flawed and stumbling through the days. None of us really know what we're doing. And thank God, right? Nobody needs that kind of pressure.
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You'll pick yourself up by your bootstraps, dust off the negativity, mess and confusion, and keep going.
Because that is what you do. And that is what makes you a mother. And a damn good one, at that.
Image via Katie Michelle Reyes
