To all the moms who feel forgotten about...
I didn't start taking my kids to the park until about November (the oldest was a little older than 2 1/2). Why? Because I had never taken them to a park and I hadn't ever had to socialize with other moms that I did not know. As most of you know I have Generalized Anxiety Disorder, and this was one of those quirky things I didn't do because of the UNKNOWN. Ya know? Well now we go to the park almost every day because I realized I can do it. Not only do the kids need a break to get outside, but I LOVE meeting new moms and talking about things we have in common (motherhood, wife duties, church duties, postpartum depression, etc).
I always hate the start of meeting someone new because it is so awkward. Like, "these are my kids Joe, Bob, and Hannah (fake names). I am a stay at home mom and my husband does XYZ. We moved here about 2 years ago..." you get the point. I hate introducing myself. It brings me back to high school when our teachers would tell us to stand up and say something unique about us. 🤔 Uhhh.... "I have played the piano for X amount of years." Guys that is literally what I would say. THAT ISN'T INTERESTING, but that was the only thing that would ever come to mind because of the anxiety. Sorry, got on a tangent. My introversion takes over sometimes. I love knowing people's stories though. Their life, problems, things they need advice on. We all need someone we can just talk to about the tough parts of life, and it doesn't need to be someone you've known forever. For example, since I am a mom, I find that a ton of moms have feelings, emotions, and experiences that I have had and I can share with them what I did.
So I met a mom a few weeks ago. She has 3 little boys and we just started chatting. We didn't really have that much in common at first, but then we started talking about books we have read and uplifting things we listen to, and I told her about my #maketheuncomfortablecomfortable page(IG link at the bottom). She followed the page, and then a few days later messaged me to see if we could meet at the park again because she loved getting to know me (MORE MOM FRIENDS, YES!❤❤)
Today we met up at the park with both our boys and after a little bit of fluff (like, how was your week? what have you been up to, etc) we started talking about being stay at home moms and the responsibilities that come with it. She said, "
I RELATE TO THIS SO MUCH. When you are working or going to school, you get constant praises. You get the relief of finishing an assignment and turning it in. Then you get the feedback from your teacher about it, and you get a grade. When you are at work, you have certain tasks you need to do, and sometimes you hear a thank you or someone tells you good job.
Once you become a mom, that all goes away. No more pats on the back. No more friends/coworkers you see every day. No more breaks outside the house. Now it is constant adulting and never-ending tasks, and you MIGHT get a thank you once a day. Being a stay at home mom is rewarding in its own ways, but is also exhausting. I absolutely adore my kids and love being able to teach them new things, but sometimes I need someone to tell me I am doing a good job. Or that I am a rock star. Or that my kids are lucky to have me as their mom. ANYTHING. I am not necessarily saying that husbands need to tell us we are doing amazing all the time, and buy us flowers and chocolate and give us breaks all the time. I just want to remind everyone that as stay-at-home-moms, we feel forgotten about A LOT OF THE TIME.
In conclusion, (haha this sounds like an essay now, ew. Sorry😂) I am reminding you to tell other moms good job. Tell them they are not alone in feeling this way. Tell your wife how incredible she is and don't forget to do things to show that you love her. That might be doing the dishes, telling her how pretty she is, or maybe flirting with her more regularly.
Moms everywhere, thank you. You are incredible. I am SO proud of you for keeping your kid(s) alive. I am proud of you for waking up a million times every night to feed your babies and change the pee soaked sheets. I want you to know you are amazing. You have to do some HARD stuff, like going to the bathroom while your kids scream from the other side of the door.
If you felt forgotten about, I want you to pick up the book, "Girl, Wash Your Face" by Rachel Hollis. I know I mentioned this book in my first blog post, but it is exactly what you need. It is an ENTIRE book of her telling you how amazing, incredible, awesome, beautiful, kind, selfless, etc you are. That book made me feel like I was worth a million bucks and I can do anything and everything I put my mind to. I AM amazing. I do incredible things every day even if nobody tells me so. You are needed. Do not forget that. ❤
Much love,
Alexis, your fellow SAHM
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