Dear Fellow Moms, I See You
I see you early in the morning, waking up before everyone else so you can make sure you have time to get yourself ready before the chaos of getting everyone else up, dressed, fed, and out the door in time for school.
I see you eating whatever your kid didn’t finish of their breakfast because you didn’t have time to eat the breakfast you made for yourself, or you forgot it on the kitchen counter when running out of the door. I see you when you’re finally getting to that morning cup of coffee three hours after you first poured it.
I see you during the day when you’re making sure everyone else has what they need before even taking a moment for yourself. When you’re changing the diaper on your baby before helping your toddler use the potty and then taking the dog outside before you can have a bathroom break yourself.
I see you sitting there at the end of your work day taking a few minutes to play a game or read the news or chat with a friend before heading to pick up kids from school because it’s the only quiet moment of your day.
I see you when you get home from work and immediately shift into mom-mode: unpacking school bags, washing lunch boxes, getting dinner started. When you realize you’ve been home for 2 hours and haven’t sat down once.
I see you when you sit down to eat dinner but get up to grab a napkin, then an extra drink cup, then a clean fork to replace the one the toddler threw on the floor before you even get to your first bite. When your youngest looks at your plate (which has the exact same food as her own plate does), and asks, “Mommy I taste yours?” and you selflessly give her bites from your plate instead of trying to convince her that it’s the same as her own plate.
I see you when you push through the exhaustion of the day and take on hair wash night with your kids, then reason with them to get out of the tub so you can dress them because they only want you today.
I see you when you agree to one more story before bed even though you’re exhausted and have a list of things to do for work and getting littles ready for school the next day running through your head.
I see you when you finally crawl into bed hours after the kids go to sleep knowing the time between then and your alarm going off in the morning isn’t nearly enough sleep to rejuvenate you from the long day.
I see you in the middle of the night walking sleepy-eyed and half asleep to your kid’s room because she was crying for someone to grab her blanket that fell on the floor. Or being woken by a tiny hand tapping your face needing someone to go to the bathroom with them or tuck them in again after a bad dream.
I see you waking up and doing it all again the next day.
It’s so often the unseen parts of parenting that test us the most. The parts that no one else is around for or sees us doing in the middle of the night. Someone could watch any of these events occur, but they won’t see it the way you do, mom, because they’re not in it. For all those times you feel unseen fellow moms, just know you’re not. We all see it. We’ve all been there and felt the same way. I see you, fellow moms, and guess what? Our kids do too. They might not be able to tell you that right now. But know that in all the moments that we feel invisible, we are seen, we are appreciated, and we are loved.
