You think you have it rough? My life is worse than yours.
“You think you have it rough? My life is worse than yours.“
Essentially, that’s what comes out of the mouths of some mothers as I vent about the struggles of motherhood.
 |
||
| Jude and his cousin Lily dancing in front of the fan. |
Jude is the the quintessential “spirited” child. He’s always been very active and sometimes hard to keep up with. We say he has two speeds: Full-Speed and Asleep. Year two has been rough for all of us but when I occasionally mention this to other moms I usually get, “you think 2 is bad wait until he turns 3.” That’s exactly what I want to hear. (*insert sarcasm)
I’m struggling to make it through the day and desperately searching for encouragement or just acknowledgement that yes, sometimes motherhood sucks. But what I end up with is a bowl full of downers. (Ironically, the closer Jude gets to 3 the better things are actually getting for us. I’m hoping to prove them all wrong.)
Shouldn’t we, as mothers, be the first to understand and sympathize with other moms who are experiencing challenges and struggles? We all have bad days. There are always challenges that come along with parenting. And even if someone is complaining about what seems to be a trivial problem to you, it’s probably a big deal to them.
I’m guilty of playing the “my life is harder than yours” card and it’s never as rewarding as you might think. It’s always much more rewarding to just listen and acknowledge that yes, it’s tough work being a mom. That’s really what most of us want, someone to just recognize that the everyday life of mom is tough stuff.
Speaking of moms, Mother’s Day is just around the corner, perfect opportunity to thank our own moms for putting up with us when we were toddlers.
