I was that mom you saw at the grocery store. The one with the screaming and crying kids. The one you rolled your eyes at as I attempted to peel my three-year-old off the floor while the four-year-old clung to my leg, weeping. Perhaps you shook your head in disdain, silently judging my parenting skills as I simply stood there for a moment, taking deep breathes to hold my composure while three over-tired and over-stimulated kids ran circles around me.
What you don't know is that I've been awake since 3:30 AM. I had to pick up an early morning shift... and that's just at my first job. I've got a second one. I'm a single mom trying to make ends meet and feed three kids. I'm going back to college in my late 20s in hopes that a Bachelors degree will someday improve our lives. I don't sleep much in between jobs and raising three kids, so when you saw me I was running on four hours of sleep and coffee fumes. I found it a huge accomplishment to leave the store with all three kids and a few grocery items, all carefully calculated out... oh, who am I kidding? I walked out with an unseemly amount of cream cheese, chocolate chips, and coffee creamer. In my spare time (haha) I want to bake a lot of goodies with the kids... while chugging down multiple cups of coffee.
The next time you roll your eyes at a mom in disgust, judging her seemingly ill-behaved children, please remember that we're all facing our own dragons. We are fighting battles that no one else sees. We are tired and need to pee. We'd like to eat a hot meal for once without some littles hands reaching into our tea glass or wiping boogers on our pants. Be kind and understanding to us young moms with small children. We're doing the best we can.
What you don't know is that I've been awake since 3:30 AM. I had to pick up an early morning shift... and that's just at my first job. I've got a second one. I'm a single mom trying to make ends meet and feed three kids. I'm going back to college in my late 20s in hopes that a Bachelors degree will someday improve our lives. I don't sleep much in between jobs and raising three kids, so when you saw me I was running on four hours of sleep and coffee fumes. I found it a huge accomplishment to leave the store with all three kids and a few grocery items, all carefully calculated out... oh, who am I kidding? I walked out with an unseemly amount of cream cheese, chocolate chips, and coffee creamer. In my spare time (haha) I want to bake a lot of goodies with the kids... while chugging down multiple cups of coffee.
The next time you roll your eyes at a mom in disgust, judging her seemingly ill-behaved children, please remember that we're all facing our own dragons. We are fighting battles that no one else sees. We are tired and need to pee. We'd like to eat a hot meal for once without some littles hands reaching into our tea glass or wiping boogers on our pants. Be kind and understanding to us young moms with small children. We're doing the best we can.
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