Just when you get tired of pretending that you are the “perfect” mom…
Just when you are about to fall from the “I’ve got it all together – pretty much” cliff…
Just when you think you are the only one who is on the verge of shattering all over your newly mopped floor…

Just then, you find another someone… another some-mom… who chooses you to share her “I’m a crazy mom” story.  A friend who sees in your eyes… just a glimpse of “mommy madness” ~ a kindred mother heart ~ and she shares her less-than-glorious mother moment (sigh of relief).

I dropped the (fill-in-the-blank foul word) bomb (yes, even Christian moms do it)

I screamed (ditto)… I mean, I screamed – a lot – until my throat hurt (ditto)… I think I may have foamed at the mouth (ditto)

I acted crazy (or I am crazy?) – (motherhood, perhaps, is the onset?)

I laugh, partly out of understanding… mostly, out of sheer release.  I am not alone.  We moms, so
many of us, are so much alike.  Our differences mix in the blender of motherhood.  We enter with our various personalities (type A’s, type B’s, and any combination thereof)… our histories (good, bad, and any combination thereof)… our personal goals (mom goals, wife goals, career goals, woman goals, and any combination thereof)… hit blend… on high speed.  Then push… stop.  The outcome ~ a mush of imperfect mom.

 

Imperfect mom… perfectly relieved to have a community of other imperfect moms

Haven’t we all thought… I bet no one else acts like this… at least not anyone I know?

I have jokingly shared that my favorite place is my laundry room.  (Not joking).  My kids are generally uninterested in that room, the churn of the washer and rumble of the dryer are usually quieter than my sweet little ones, it smells good (for the most part), and it’s a nice place to bang your head… against something that gives a little (the side of the washer – while I’m kneeling down… crumbling under the weight of being mom).

Great relief.  There are more out there… just like me.  I am not an alien mom, after all.

God gives us community for a reason… to share the good, the bad, and the head banging (and any combination thereof).  Next time, while I’m sharing my woes with my washing machine… while I am kneeling in the solitude of my laundry room… I will thank Him.  Thank Him for my community of moms… especially for those of us who are brave enough to be transparent.  I’ll pray for more opportunities ~ to be transparent right back… a chance to encourage the next mom.  You are not alone, either.  Sigh of relief.

Philippians 4:13-14

I can do everything through him who gives me strength.  Yet it was good of you to share in my troubles.