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What If We Made It OK To Be A “Good Enough” Mother Instead Of An Exemplary One?
I realized early on that solely changing diapers and breastfeeding around the clock led me into postpartum depression. I discovered the my anxiety as a young mom was crippling.
I discovered that I had OCD and frankly, I realized there was a lot about being a mother that I just didn’t like.
It’s not popular to voice out loud that you don’t like being a mother.
Granted, there are some days when I do love it, in fact. But I was surprised to find out that being a mother wasn’t the only thing I needed to feel like a complete human.
Motherhood didn’t fulfill me like I thought it would.
I was programmed to believe early on that motherhood was the pinnacle achievement I would reach in my life.
Sure, I had other passions. I wanted to become a therapist, possibly a criminal psychologist. Graduate school was in my road map, and I certainly wasn’t sitting around waiting to find a husband.
But, when he came along, suddenly my goals shifted and I thought marriage, and four years later — motherhood, was the key to my happiness.
Motherhood does bring me a lot of joy.
There is no denying the fact that I have loved being a mom some days.
