“In general, when I complain that I am having trouble taking care of everything, I would just like for people to acknowledge that motherhood is hard. I don’t always needs suggestions or solutions; I just need acknowledgment of my feelings.”
Moms Are Underpaid :: An Interactive Discussion {Plus WIN a Staycation!}
While parenting has always been a challenging endeavor, it is safe to say that the COVID-19 pandemic created numerous additional stressors for the modern family. Without much warning at all, and with no handbook on how to parent during a pandemic, parents were
abruptly given stay-at-home orders and forced to figure out how to effectively (or not so effectively) work from home while also juggling the demands of childcare, schoolwork and household responsibilities. Of course, this all occurred against the backdrop of a very scary time in history when anxiety and fear were ever present. No one knew how to do this, and everyone was quite literally guessing at the next right thing. “Motherhood, working, being a wife for me is definitely a build the ship while it sails adventure,” remarked one local mom.
As we slowly emerge from this unique period of time and return to some normalcy, it is clear that moms are carrying a lot of valid (and heavy) emotions and attempting to process the experience. In general, moms are reporting high levels of stress, remarking repeatedly that they feel burnt out, overwhelmed and quite frankly real tired of making decisions.
I’m so sick of making decisions. It was up to me to decide my family’s level of comfort with Covid restrictions, what to do about daycare, if we were socializing or not, etc. I make big decisions all day at work, and then every single decision at home falls on me too. My husband will literally ask me if he should open or close the blinds. It’s draining.
Another interesting dynamic that surfaced is the division of labor within the home when suddenly everyone was home all the time and the lines between work, home and daycare were blurred. As one mom shared, “With COVID, my husband’s full-time, higher-salary job obviously took precedent over mine, which made perfect sense, but left me feeling resentment that although we were both working from home, I was still the primary parent that had to drop everything for childcare.”
Join The Conversation
With all of these feelings in mind, we teamed up with our friends at the Building Us podcast to have a meaningful conversation about how parents are feeling post pandemic. We want to celebrate our amazing community of New Orleans moms while also acknowledging that the past year in particular has been exceedingly difficult. So pull up a chair and listen to our conversation … and then we’d love for you to join in, too!
Who Wants a Staycation?
In addition to facilitating this important conversation, we’d also love to spoil two lucky New Orleans moms at Mother’s Day this year … we want to hear from YOU.
To enter to win a staycation ::
- Please share what piece of this conversation stood out the most to you. What would you add to the conversation? What topics resonated with you? Please leave your thoughts in a comment on this post. There are no right or wrong answers as we learn motherhood together.
- After commenting, please provide your name and email below so that we can get in touch with you should you be one of the lucky staycation winners! You MUST complete both steps to be eligible to win a staycation as part of the New Orleans Mom & Building Us Podcast Mother’s Day tribute.
Thank you to the following local New Orleans area properties for partnering with us to spoil two lucky moms. We recognize that it has been a tough year, and just for being part of the conversation, you have a chance to win one of the following incredible prizes.
Higgins Hotel :: one night stay in a Studio Suite Plus AND a $25 dollar voucher for Rosie’s on the Roof {Restrictions – based on availability of rooms when reservation is requested; most weekends are high demand and may not have available dates. Certificate is valid for 6 months through the end of October 2021. Total Prize Value of $600}
Southern Hotel :: $300 gift certificate / property credit {2 blackout dates: August 21 and December 31. The rest will be subject to hotel availability. Winner may use the gift card however they’d like; $300 will cover 1 night on a weekend with a little bit left for a drink at the bar OR the winner could opt to use it during the week and maybe get 2 nights OR winner can spend it all in the bar!}
Great conversation. I love that there are men on the panel participating.
Love this! So much of it resonated with me. I think what resonated most was the acknowledgement that even though some dads really help a lot (as mine definitely does), the mental and emotional weight of running the household falls on the mom most of the time. And I’m glad they mentioned having a meeting with your partner about the household. We just started having a daily briefing/meeting (and I started a central Google doc with things we can both add whenever that need to be discussed – chores, appointments, games, ideas, etc.). It’s definitely helped the frustrating communication issues Seleigh mentioned about asking for help. My husband is always MORE than willing to help, but sometimes there’s so much going on that it takes longer for me to explain what I need help with than it does for me to do it. Putting everything in a central place and regularly addressing it has been a game-changer.
It’s always interstitial me that moms is different situations can have shared feelings. It’s the bond of motherhood! Throughout the conversation I found myself saying yes! I know exactly what you mean
The part that resonates with me is when they talked about having grade for yourself. I feel like I take on so much that I have to give myself grace that I can’t get it all done.
It really resonates with me the that the lines are totally blurred between work and home duties. I’m always on the move, always doing something, but I don’t feel like I’m doing any of it really well.
I loved the tips for openly communicating. Asking your kids or spouse to reflect on how we can make a situation better was a great suggestion for them to feel a part of the process (and to feel as though they aren’t being nagged or forced).
I loved the conversation. My input is that being a mom doesn’t end when your children reach 18. Mine are 37 and 32. I “work” as a mom mentally and emotionally as much as I did when they were young children. We never stop worrying for their health, safety, their future, happiness and love. There is nothing like being a mother. It is hard work. The rewards are endless.
I make all the decisions in my house also…. whether it be big plans or simple boring ones. I wish my husband would step up sometimes, take the reigns and plan something…. anything.
CONGRATS you won the Southern Hotel giveaway, Jennifer! Can you kindly confirm your email ASAP or email us at [email protected] to claim your prize.
I felt like I had two full time jobs during the pandemic. I was performing my normal day to day duties and also had to keep my dog from barking and child from being loud so that my husband could do his job from home. I am so glad that things seem to be moving in a positive direction now.
I really feel like there should have been late night support groups for those of us who needed some adult conversation during quarantine after the dads came home from working outside the home or inside the home. I saw posts where moms were sitting in a parking lot with their vehicles open and drinking wine with blankets and hoodies. I would have loved that. Next pandemic we need to have a handbook for moms trying to survive the seclusion.