One of the things I want to do with this blog is share about the things people don’t always talk about. Some of the best things I’ve read have been posts or essays where other moms shared their experiences in a way that made me feel more “normal.” Just knowing you’re not the only one who does one thing or struggles with another can be so encouraging. Today’s post is just a place for me to share a few things that might make someone else feel less alone.

This post is especially for you if for some reason my social media feed has ever led you to believe I have any clue what I’m doing or that I’m doing it better than you are. I promise we’re in this together.

Walter eats breakfast in front of the TV almost every day.

Naturally I have mixed feelings about screen time. I know it isn’t the best for young children to spend a lot of time being passively entertained by a screen. Walter is a smart kid, and I don’t want his brain to dissolve from getting too much TV and not enough hands-on play. At the same time, turning on an episode of Daniel Tiger in the morning gives me 20 minutes to eat a bagel and curl my hair in peace.

This arrangement makes it much easier for me to get myself and Phoebe ready for the day while I know he’s occupied and staying out of trouble. The rule is that he needs to get himself dressed before he can watch a video, but once he’s dressed, he can have his milk and his toast or oatmeal bar in the living room with the TV turned on.

It does help to remember that I watched TV while I was growing up. I’ve seen home videos of my childhood with the TV on in the background, even when my siblings and I were little. Now my brother has a PhD, my sister is working through a PhD program, and I am writing these very good blog posts, so I don’t think having regular TV time messed us up too much.

My mom helps out A LOT.

If you’ve ever looked at me and wondered how I do it all, just know that my mom does a lot of it. She watches the kids every morning during the week while I’m at work, and on some days she stays with them in the afternoons so I can go to appointments, pick up groceries, or get together with a friend. She’s often my co-parent for the kids’ bedtime if Brad is gone in the evening. Sometimes she makes a double batch of soup or casserole and sends some home with me for an easy dinner. 

It’s not just my mom; my dad and my in-laws help us out a lot too. My point is that I have an excellent support system around me. I have no idea how others perceive me from what I share on social media, but I’m definitely not a “Super Mom” who is managing two kids, a job, a husband, and a household all by herself. I have a lot of help!

I’ve been taking Zoloft since Walter was a baby.

I’ve dealt with some anxiety on and off since middle school, but it really picked up when Walter was about three or four months old. (Which isn’t surprising considering by then I’d been through a pandemic, a physically rough recovery from delivery, struggles with breastfeeding, and my husband’s cancer diagnosis.) I saw my doctor when I started having trouble sleeping, and started a low dose of Zoloft. It’s been a game changer. I feel better now that I’m treating the anxiety, and I really think I’m a better mom for it.

I don’t really like dogs.

Okay, this one isn’t specific to motherhood, but I need to put it out there. If you love dogs, or if you have a dog, that’s great. I do see the appeal of having a friendly, furry companion who loves to be around you. In theory. In reality, I feel like dogs are just kind of (and please don’t hate me for saying this) annoying. And slobbery. And high-maintenance. I know it’s an unpopular opinion here on the internet, but I can’t be the only one who feels this way and I figured it was time someone just admitted it.

Cats, on the other hand, are delightful.

The toddler stage is not where I shine as a mom.

I never know what to say when people comment that my 3-year-old is “at such a fun age.” The truth is, he’s a strong-willed toddler and I often miss the days when he was small and snuggly (and before he figured out how to unbuckle himself from the car seat.) A lot of people say the newborn phase is the hardest. And while it’s true that the newborn phase is intense, I enjoyed that phase much more than the “terrible twos.”

I’m “powering through” the little kid years and just trying to enjoy as much of it as I can. I don’t like feeling that way, but it is what it is. I don’t want to wish the time away, because it really does “go so fast.” At the same time, it does help to know the toddler stage won’t last forever.

So, there you have it.

I’m a regular human mom, just like anyone else, but you probably knew that already. There are so many topics around motherhood that I feel need to be talked about more, and I see plenty of people on social media and in other spaces trying to have the conversations that make us all feel a bit more normal. I want to be part of that, even in a small way.

Let me know if one of these “confessions” resonated with you!