We all struggle as moms, women, professionals; it’s normal. I recently listened to a podcast on Boss Mom that talked about the “struggle bus,” as they called it. And it really hit home.
We all struggle with something from time to time. So I wonder, why is it that we often hide our struggles as moms? Do we want everyone to think our family lives are perfect? Are we worried about being judged? Do we want to create a façade with perfect pictures and moments on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest?
My close friends have heard me say that life is what happens between the pictures and I truly believe that to be true. Sometimes life is amazing and everything falls into place, but sometimes things suck. And that’s OK, as long as it’s not the constant state of things.
Being a mom has its hard moments, just like it has fantastic moments and everything in between. Being a working mom, including a part-time working mom, can be tough. We don’t normally talk about the tough parts, though. It’s almost like the tough parts are a secret.
Why struggle alone, though? Isn’t it better to have someone listen and even help, if you ask? Don’t we want to know we’re not alone or unique in how we feel or in what we’re going through? Are we trying so hard to focus on the positive that we don’t even want to acknowledge the negative?
And it might seem like a burden in your head, or even a weakness, to share your struggle, but is it? Showing you’re human and reaching out for someone to listen or to help is normal, right? We all get it and we’ve all been in a moment of struggle, even if our struggle isn’t the same. The moments we struggle show the importance of friends and a tribe.
As working moms, we all have challenges from time to time of our kids in their different stages like toddlerhood or pre-teen, deadlines to meet that can be tight and feel impossible, kids getting sick or we get sick (and often at “inconvenient times”), messy or dirty houses, tough work moments because of a manager or colleague or client, unhappy moments with a significant other, and oh-so-many more. The specific elements of the struggle might be unique, but the subject is probably something your sister, friend, neighbor, colleague has dealt or is dealing with.
Pick up the phone. Call someone and share a struggle and ask if they are struggling with something too. Maybe even post something on your personal FB page or in a FB group, where you have are like-minded people who won’t judge. Chances are you will feel better and not quite so alone in this struggle. Maybe someone you know is going through something similar.
How do you share when you’re struggling? Does it usually help?
