From one mom to another, you’re doing great. Some days, it might not feel like it. Believe me, I feel this. I have felt this. But SO MUCH is being asked of us right now, so success might look a little different these days. And that’s ok. (Do you hear me reassuring myself at the same time?) 

This isn’t a lost year. It’s an unprecedented year with unpredictable circumstances. The kids are learning incredible lessons, but those lessons might be in resilience, toughness, and maybe some cooking and laundry thrown in. 

You are amazing. You’re doing the best you can. No one knew we’d have to do all of the home stuff AND school stuff AND potentially working a regular job from home. It is literally impossible to do all of those full-time commitments in a 24 hour period while maintaining sanity. Your choices are yours to make. It doesn’t make it less difficult, but you know yourself and you know your kids, so trust yourself that you’re making the right decisions. The internet doesn’t bleeping know. I guess technically I’m an internet mom too right now, but hopefully you feel like this is a safe space. I’m not trying to tell you what to do. You are the only one who knows what is best for your kids and your family and your sanity right now.

I could make a generic “it’s going to be ok” type statement, but obviously that doesn’t help when you just need a minute to breathe without anyone climbing on you or needing you to connect them to zoom for the umpteenth time or whatever. But I can say that eventually, we will get through this. Eventually, the pandemic will be over, and life and time will carry us all forward. Things will change yet again, hopefully for the better, and you’ll be able to look back on this time. Isn’t that glorious? Just the idea of being able to think back upon this period of time instead of being in the middle of it seems like a gift.

So we’re getting there. We might even come out of this knowing ourselves a little bit better, knowing our kids and partners better after all of this time spent together. We might be able to acknowledge what we need and be willing to ask for it in the moment. Things like, “I need a hug,” “I need a minute,” “I need to go to Target alone,” etc.

These skills and this knowledge won’t disappear once the pandemic is over. It’s our choice whether we wear them as scars or as badges.