You know when the lava monster jumps out in the Moana movie? Picture I am the lava monster and Moana is my children. When I become that monster I know it’s time for me to take a break. I have never been good at taking breaks or taking them prior to exploding. It’s normal for us moms to get burnt out, the mental load of Motherhood is exhausting. Wether you’re a stay at home mom, work away from home mom it doesn’t matter. We are those memes where you’re covered in spit up, both kids are fighting, the laundry mound is so big it’s taken up half of a room.
I have lately been trying to remind myself once a week to do something for me. I love to get my nails done, have a long bath with nobody interrupting me. Sometimes I love to go shopping at Target because hello it’s Target! I can’t expect anyone to take care of myself so I need to make sure I do it. I tend to get agitated easily and can snap at any given moment. I wait till the last possible moment to think when was the last time I took a break.
What does the mental load of motherhood look like? Picture an octopus with all of their arms and each arm is a task that mother needs to do. Chef, Chauffeur, nurse, cleaning lady, referee for fighting are just a few. This is what happens when you become a parent though, the two year old can’t make their own Pediatrician appointment. The seven year old can’t drive themselves to Dance. The list of tasks can go on and on and I know my list can get overwhelmingly long and I often wait till it’s so long I am anxious about it.
I don’t know about anyone else but I have never been good at multitasking. I am either really amazing at keeping up with laundry or the kids have baths everyday there is no in between for me. I know Instagram puts on a facade of a really clean photo where the mother is smiling drinking her coffee. Behind that photo is a room full of laundry, dishes in the sink, so many toys. Seriously where do all the toys come from? I swear there is someone making them in my closest and just keeps putting them out while we are all sleeping. Either that or I am shopping at Target in my sleep, both of which are very possible.
I think learning, grasping and tackling the motherhood load is almost a waste of time. Once you have a clean house, no dishes, no laundry something else will come in to throw it out of wack. Personally I need to learn to relax like relax in a big way. I need to learn to leave the dishes, don’t stress folding the laundry or picking up the toys. I don’t know why I feel like it needs to be done right away. It is almost like I have an irrational fear something will go wrong if the dishes aren’t done.
NEWS FLASH: Life will continue no matter how many dishes are in the sink, how much laundry is needing to be done. Kids will grow up, relationships will continue on and it will pass you by if you don’t learn to take time for yourself. Seriously someone just slap me and tell me to take a CBD gummy and chill out.
Take that bath, drink excessive amounts of wine, go for a walk and for the love of god leave the dishes in the sink. Enjoy some time for yourself and make sure to take care of your mental health because that is the most important thing.
XOXO Shannon
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