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!