Mom Describes Getting Through the Feeling of Wanting to "Tap Out" of Motherhood
We've all had those days — plenty of them, most likely — when we feel like we can't possibly keep doing this demanding "motherhood" thing any longer. Being a parent is no joke, and though it has its rewards, it can be one of the most difficult endeavours a human ever takes on. Regan Long, mother of four and blogger at The Real Deal of Parenting, admits to a moment of weakness in which she wanted to "tap out" of motherhood for a bit, and her words are so completely relatable.
"I'm ashamed to admit that out loud as it sounds pretty terrible, but I'll be honest, it's the truth," she wrote in a post to Facebook. "Today I felt like, 'I don't have this anymore. I'm not built for this. I can't do this . . . I'm DONE.'"
Long continues, sharing that due to some "pretty wicked exhaustion" she was feeling very over the stressors in her life over the previous few weeks, which included sickness and hospital visits. However, those factors were not the only reason she was feeling so "done" with it all.
"I'm done with talking until I'm blue in the face, and no one listening.
I'm done stepping over the same jacket or toy or shoe that no matter how many times I wait or ask someone to pick it up, it still remains there or gets shuffled around to a different spot that it doesn't belong in.
I'm not even going to touch on the dishes or laundry because even me thinking about it, I feel like it's such a broken record, I'm sick of 'hearing' myself talk or even think about that dose of crazy.
I'm done with cleaning messes to just be recreated. I'm done with putting clothes away for them to be strewn about minutes later. I'm done with feeling like a hamster on a wheel that is ready to break.
'I'm done,' I told myself today, as now my body is starting to become sick and run down."
But then, just as Long was letting her exhaustion and frustrations materialize in the forms of yelling at her children and losing her patience, her youngest child reminded her why she has to keep pushing forward through the trying times.
"'I make you happy, Mama.' She didn't ask me this, she told me this . . . " Long wrote. "It's incredible how those five tiny words reminded me that maybe I can hang tough after all, and I just needed a 2-year-old to remind me. When we think we're done and there's nothing left, something or someone refuels us when we least expect it. That's the real deal of parenting, my friends: THAT is how we wake up for one more day."