Every mother has been told this at least once: “Enjoy every minute – they grow up so fast.”
But here’s what I wish more people told me: It’s okay to not enjoy every minute.
I’m not talking about the waking up in the middle of the night or doing infinite loads of laundry or the normal, monotonous day-to-day stuff.
I’m talking about the stuff you don’t have to do. The extras.
Not every mother enjoys the same parts of motherhood.
Before I actually had kids, I pictured myself chaperoning field trips, volunteering for everything, being a Girl Scout troop leader, playing on the floor with the kids for hours and crafting 24/7.
I thought I was supposed to do – and like – all of these things.
That’s what good moms do.
In real life, there wasn’t one thing I enjoyed about being a Girl Scout leader.
And although I didn’t think it was possible to dislike something more than Girl Scouts, playing with dolls and Barbies was probably Number 1 on the list of Stuff I Really Don’t Love Doing.
You don’t have to force yourself to love the parts of motherhood that don’t feel like you.
Motherhood gets so much easier – and so much better – when you stop trying to be the mom you thought you had to be and start being the one you actually are.
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