Mom Boss Motherhood Series - Rockstars Raising Littles

When you're a Mom, every day is the same, and every day is different. We wake up to either one of two alarms; the one we manually set before we go to bed, or the ever-reliable baby face, bright eyed and bushy tailed, morning breath and/or poopy diapers infiltrating the sensitive mom nose at the butt crack of dawn, with way too much energy for the adults who are sleepily squinting, struggling to get one eye open. The hurdles Moms face in the day-to-day to keep the pieces of ourselves together when we spread ourselves so thin over so many different places are endless; the mountain that grows daily no matter how much of it you chip away, similar to the dreaded laundry pile.

Whether you stay home with your babes, you work the 9-5, the nightshift, work from home (while managing your kids, yikes!), your kids are in daycare, you have a nanny, you're a single parent, co-parent, etc.; we are all sitting next to each other on the same struggle bus, and yet we still sometimes feeling lonely. You may have a partner or spouse, or you may be rocking Motherhood all on your own.  Before having kids, when you heard the saying, 'It takes a village', the reality of how many hands, eyes and ears you could use becomes an epic light bulb moment once you take that sweet little bundle home. Sometimes our village is absent, or lacking in villagers, leaving us with this guilt and panic of not being able to simply 'keep up'. Our challenges might not all be paralleled, but they are, in some sense, the same.

We all love and adore our children with boundless limitations, I think that goes without saying. We would die for you, but, no, I don't want to share my doughnut (no shame!).  I would take your illness and suffer it myself in a heartbeat if I could, but if you wipe your snot on me one more time...As I sit here and write this, I am attempting to keep my 3 & 6 year old entertained outside, taking 20 minutes to set up a kiddy pool with toys galore, they have an amazing play set, a 4 wheeler, all the while still requesting something every 2 minutes (I timed it!), 'Mom, look at me!', (adorable), 'Mom, look at this' (still cute), 'Mommy where is [insert toy that is within their eye sight]' (heavy eye roll), 'Mommy I want to go inside', (OMG!!!).  I am one of those parents who works from home, who has one of her kiddos in daycare 2 days a week and the other is in school 4 hours a day. My struggles are my own, but they are everyone elses, too.  While I attempt to get work done after they go to bed at 8:30 every night, some nights it's all I can do to keep my eyes open till 9 pm and I'm super excited to get to that sofa to fall asleep to This Is Us (because I'm not ready for 'bed' yet, damnit, and it's finally my ME time!).  Some nights I'm up till 2 am with deadlines that cannot wait and I'm paying for it the next day with the aforementioned kiddy alarm system. 

Society recognizes Mothers Day in May, but our babies recognize us every day. With the nuzzles so hard you'd think they were trying to get back in your belly, the kisses that eliminate the need for facial moisturizer, the way their little hands grab onto yours when they feel scared, or nervous or overwhelmed. There is literally nothing like being a Mom. But we are so, SO much more than that. We are Strong and Beautiful, Wise and Resilient. We are Resourceful and Creative, Soulful and Selfless. We are Sexy and Loving, Patient and Impatient.  Some of us are Career-driven, some of us have found our joy in being solely a Mom and caregiver.  When you are lucky enough to have a partner in life, an equal, and someone who treats us as such, it is everything. You have won the lottery.  I am not dismissing the idea that Dad's have amazing roles, especially ones that help to fold the continuous loads of laundry, do the litany of piling dishes, change the poopy diapers and handle bath times. But May is for Moms! I am highlighting some local Moms this month who tell us all about their struggles, their role as Mom and Entrepreneur and how they juggle it all. Leave a comment and/or tips other moms can take and apply to their lives. Who doesn't need a little help?!