5 Things Every Mom Living Through the Pandemic Needs to Hear

Can we have an honest discussion about being a mom in the middle of a pandemic? This year has been hard. Our normal lives full of structure and order have been replaced with unknown variables and constant disarray. We laughed, cried, made a ton of crafts, done every single socially-distance-friendly outdoor activity, cried some more while making the best of the “new normal” to keep a smile on our children’s faces. While this year has been a challenge, I hope that we can find comfort in knowing that we are not alone. We are ALL dealing with the same mixed emotions. If you see a fellow mom, we may say we are doing just fine, but here are five things every mom has felt during the pandemic:

1. We are exhausted. In every sense of the word. We are juggling so many hats and there is no line between each role we play. We could start a morning off in a virtual department meeting and be a second-grade teacher by noon. Every family member is either learning from home or working from home, and our homes are a mess no matter how much we clean. There is no break in a pandemic. We’re scrambling to find safe childcare, schools are closed, and we are trying to keep a brave face for our families.
2. We have constant mom-guilt. We feel guilt if we keep our children home because we realize they are missing out on key socialization skills, but we struggle to send them back for their health and safety. Our kiddos are getting way more screen time. Even if we begin the day with full intentions to do a few educational activities with them, work gets busy and they end up on their iPad or watching yet another movie.
3. Honestly, a small part of us is relieved. Somehow, this pandemic has slowed us down tremendously. Our normally packed schedules full of mommy dates, practices, and car-pulls have dwindled. There’s no rush to daycare in the morning to make it into the office before 8 a.m. We roll out of bed and enjoy our steamy cup of coffee before the kids wake up. There’s no more rushing them out the door for school, and a piece of us is grateful for this slower pace.
4. We miss the little things. We want to plan our kids’ birthday parties with all of our family and friends. We miss sneaking out for a coffee date or dinner with friends. We even miss taking our children to overly-crowded museums and amusement parks. We’ve fantasized about all of the things we will do post-pandemic, and none of our plans are extravagant. We want to aimlessly walk through Target mask-free and go to the movies. We just want to feel normal.
5. Everything else aside, we are grateful for this time. No matter what adversity we are facing, we understand that this is an opportunity to spend more quality time with our families. As moms, we have become accustomed to putting on our superhero capes and finding the silver lining in every situation. We’ve made birthdays extra special by gathering our friends and families to do birthday party parades, and we blow out candles on zoom. We’ve jumped through hoops to make every milestone special. Though it may be tough at times, we recognize that spending endless amounts of time with our families is a gift.

Let these five truths be your gentle reminder that we are all in this together. We are all going through the same wave of emotions and facing the same obstacles. The beautiful thing about every challenge we face is that there is an amazing lesson that lies within if we dig deep enough. Lastly, remember that this pandemic is tough but us mamas are stronger!

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