When you're the mom, on Mother's Day

Disclaimer: I do NOT have freckles. But I love them. So this Instagram filter is fun. Also, I was hiding from my demanding life for a minute.  

Aw, Mother's Day. The holiday of so many emotions. 

Joy. Pain. Relief. Sadness. Stress. Peace. 

Maybe one of the most common feelings around Mother's Day is that of inadequacy. 

We have these little humans (those of us who have been blessed with them), who offer gifts and sing our praises. And all of the talk of motherly love, sacrifice and awesomeness reminds us that maybe we're not all we're talked up to be. 

Maybe it's all a mirage. We're putting on a show. 

Maybe amidst their celebration of our hard work, we recognize just how crappy of a job we're really doing. 

But, let's stop. And give ourselves a fair chance. After all, we did create these little humans (with help from Dad, obviously), and we carried them inside us while they grew strong enough to live on their own. 

I mean, just that, by itself, is worth an annual celebration. 

And then there's the fact that we feed them. For years. Decades even. 

That should deserve a chocolate bar at least once a year. 

We clothe them, and do the diaper thing. For years. 

Definitely deserves a bouquet of flowers every spring. 

And of course, we love them. In all their tantrum-throwing, sticky-hands, messy-house, eye-rolling glory. We love them. 

That earns us at least a poem, or a handprint card, or a scribble picture. 

And it's when we remember that- the fact that we love them- with all our very soul- that's when we can relax and soak up the moment of Mothers Day. 

Because motherhood is the hardest, most exhausting, gut-wrenching, terrifying thing anyone can endure. 

But it's also the best. 

Truly. The best. 

So, Momma, even if you feel that you're not as good of a Mom as the P&G commercials makes us out to be, keep putting on the show. Because it's one important performance. 

And in the end, maybe we'll discover that we weren't just acting a part after all. 

Happy Mother's Day.