While it’s never been easy to be a parent, it seems especially hard to be one in a world where we never know when everyone’s attention will suddenly shift towards us.
Although there are so many different parenting styles, some parents will pressure others towards their particular way of doing it passionately whether anybody asked for their advice or not.
And while it’s widely agreed that this “mommy shaming” is annoying and toxic, that doesn’t make it any less effective because it’s not as if many parents don’t already have serious doubts and insecurities about the job they’re doing.
And that’s likely why one mom’s post that goes against these mounting expectations is picking up so much traction and praise online.
On August 30, a mom who goes by The 21st Century SAHM wrote a lengthy Facebook post that quickly explained why she was holding this head of broccoli.
And as she outlined , that was because it happened to have a role in a day in which she described herself as being “efficient AF.”
Not only did she buy and cook this broccoli among other groceries, but worked out, drank six glasses of water, ate a salad for lunch, received a quote from a painter, and kept on top of her full-time job.
And that’s not even getting into what she did for her kids that day.
In addition to registering her son for a tennis program, renting a clarinet for her daughter and picking up her son’s friend so the kids could hang out, she also dropped off her other son’s paperwork for his EpiPen and bought him more allergy medication as he was going back to school soon.
But of course, the point of this post wasn’t to brag and that became immediately clear after she wrote, “How did I do it all? What’s the magic secret? Lean in, friends. Lemme tell you.”
That’s because her day also featured some parenting decisions that a lot of other moms would cluck disapprovingly at.
As she wrote, “My kids were on screens all the damn day. I barely saw them. They fed themselves breakfast and lunch (food foraging was the only time they emerged from the basement) and I’m pretty sure they ate ice cream for breakfast and Oreos for lunch.”
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She also said that the house is something of a mess because they recently returned from a trip and haven’t finished unpacking so clothes are basically everywhere and the kids have to pick through them to find an outfit.
And she admitted to all of that to say that there’s no way you can possibly “do it all” as a parent.
As she put it, anybody who tells you “that you can parent the way you’ve been guilted into believing you need to parent, and maintain a career you very much deserve and likely need to support your family, and do all the 843 errands moms always need to do” is lying.
They always say that something’s got to give, but she argues that it’s only possible to get anything done when many things give.
In her words, “You can’t do it all. None of us can. Be proud of what you do—however long or short that list is—because tomorrow’s another day with another list.”
h/t: Facebook | The 21st Century SAHM
