There are a number of mothers that I admire, my own mother not least among them. But today I’m writing about two of my good friends. They’re my neighbors and friends. They each have many more children than I do (which isn’t so hard, since I do only have the one so far!).
But the reason that I admire them so much isn’t because they somehow manage to run perfect households filled with perfect children and are always perfect mothers—though it often seems that way to me on the outside.
Fortunately, we’ve become good enough friends that I know that’s not the truth. I would be incredibly intimidated by them and their wonderful families if it weren’t for the fact that my friends are so brutally honest about their lives—and their struggles.
I appreciate my friends’ battles with patience and other problems. Not because it makes me feel superior to them—but because I understand their struggles so deeply. It’s reassuring to know that even mothers who really do have so much under control (at least in my opinion) aren’t perfect. It helps me to adjust my expectations for myself, too.
So thank you, my friends, for being honest about your real lives and sharing your struggles with me.
I know it can be pretty easy to share our struggles with people online who we’ll probably never meet in person, but that’s one of the reasons why I started this blog, to share my struggles. Please feel free to share your struggles with me anytime.
Stay tuned for next week’s Group Writing Project!
4 replies on “Appreciating other mothers’ struggles”
I agree! Nothing like a little reality to cement a friendship. And you sound like a rare one… Your little one is lucky to have such a thoughtful mommy!
I completely agree. This is one of the things my husband doesn’t understand. Sometimes he doesn’t like me to tell “our business”, usually about something that we’re struggling with. I think for men it shows weakness, but for women it’s a way to bond.
So true! Funny, I have a neighbor who is ten years older than me and has five (FIVE) kids, from eight to college age. And she amazes me . . . she’s always so collected and calm, and her kids are wonderful. But when I got to know her, she told me she was always gazing wistfully over the fence thinking about what it must be like to be me, with no kids (at the time), devoting myself to writing. So funny how the grass can be so green on the other side, until you get together and look closer and see that all of it has some brown patches. 😉
Oh, exactly! To all of you!
@swirling—yeah, these women have 6 kids apiece—and not a one of them has killed another, to my knowledge—so I know exactly how you felt!