Like all working moms, Aimee Nelson spent every minute of every day working to meet the needs of her children and family, often overlooking herself. She was pretty certain that no one really recognized her burden. Until one day, a series of notes from her daughter told her otherwise.
"As a working mom, I often feel like I’m at the mercy of work and school schedules..."Aimee began saying in a raw and honest Facebook post.
"Days consist of scrambling to get the kids’ things ready before I rush to get to work at 7 a.m., putting in a long work day, then spending my nights at school and sporting events. Then it’s dinner, homework, and bedtime."
Yet, despite everything Aimee did, it never felt like enough.
"Every night as I do one last goodnight kiss to my sleeping 8 and 10 year olds, that familiar feeling washes over me—mom guilt.”
Ah yes, Mommy Guilt. Every Mom knows it.
"Did I spend enough quality time with them? Did I tell them I love them enough? Was dinner healthy enough? Did they watch too much tv tonight? Was I too strict by not letting them stay up for '5 more minutes' or snuggle with me until they fell asleep (for the 3rd night that week)?”
For Aimee, the guilt was relentless. (She's not alone in this, either).
She continued, "The self-doubt is continuous. No matter how many hugs, kisses, or 'I love yous' we get from our children; we moms still worry that we aren’t doing enough."
She wandered through her days, convinced that no one understood what she was going through.
"So we trek along day after day, hoping our babies see the sacrifice, the unconditional love, the countless ways we try to get this parenting thing right... hoping one day we will get some reinforcement that we are doing something right."
Then one day, Aimee wrote, everything changed.
"As I walked out to grab my work ID and keys, I noticed they weren’t in my usual spot."
Aimee was presented with a sight that took her breath away.
"As I frantically searched for them, I came across this sight: My 8 year old daughter had made these notes for me before bed. She left my ID and sunglasses, and a note for everything else—'Ready to drive? You can pick which rings you want. I thought you might want these. Want your lunch?' I found a bag in the refrigerator with water, soup, and oatmeal for me; along with a note saying: 'I gave you the keys to my heart.'"
Her daughter may not have realized it, but that simple action changed the way Aimee saw her role as mother.
"She may not know it now, but those notes scribbled in crayon were just what I needed that day! They showed me that maybe—just maybe—I'm doing something right."
For all the moms out there, we see you. You're rocking it.
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