Dear Mama,
By Dena Walden
To the mama who’s feeling guilty for being ready to start a new school year, I see you. Maybe this summer wasn’t the idyllic, Pinterest worthy, staycation you’d imagined having because every time you turned around there were more snacks eaten with the leftover contents scattered amongst the toys strewn all over your living room floor.
The living room, oh yes, the one place where you’d toss that basket of laundry that had to be washed three times because you got so caught up in carrying your older kids to numerous practices and appointments that you promised yourself you’d fold them eventually.
Mama, I heard you when you sighed for the third time in a row because you did all you could do to make sure the little ones took naps only to find them climbing out of bed and sneaking back in the kitchen for a sippy cup refill. I’ve seen the tears in your eyes when you’ve beaten yourself up for feeling like a failure when you couldn’t make each day seem like home grown magic.
Even more so, I saw the times you felt so frustrated when older moms would relentlessly tell you how much you’re going to miss these days and these messes, but deep down that felt like a gut punch. It’s not that you want the hands of time to start spinning fast forward at an alarming rate because you know how much it will sting when little feet aren’t running for you. However, it would surely be nice to have someone give you an empathetic hug because they once were on this journey too and know how hard it can be.
Dear mama, it’s okay to be excited about a new school year for your own kids and returning to a job you love. Not only do you feel as though you’re making a difference in your own life, but your family knows that when you’re at your best mentally you can be your best for them.
Don’t ever let anyone make you feel less than maternal for being excited about returning to the workforce. You’ve not lost your focus on your true calling as a mother. You know beyond the shadow of a doubt that God put you in the position you’re in to love the ones He places in your path in turn showing your own children how to love others as well.
Never forgot that….