A mom of 3 kids..all under the age of 3 opened up to me at the park today. Someone I have never met or even seen before. It started as a casual conversation when I put her daughter on the swing because she was busy with her middle child who was 2.
I then asked the ages of her children and carried on a conversation of "Are girls easier than boys?" She had 2 daughters and a son. She said my son was the easiest but we are afraid that he is developing slowly or has special needs.
This boy lit up the park with his smile. He was giggles and happiness.
She got tears in her eyes and poured out to me how hard the past few months have been for her. Her oldest refuses to potty train, the middle child is independent but isn't making conversation or pronouncing any letters. Her youngest 7 month's old, the same age as Leo is teething.
She looked exhausted. Something about seeing a Mother struggle was hard to see. I wasn't about to share my child's routines or how easy they have been for me. I lent a ear. I even asked if she wanted me to bottle feed her youngest when she was busy getting her 3 year old stuck on the slide.
Amazing how someone would trust me or open up to me about her life as a mother and how hard it has been when they don't even know me.
She told me that she had to run give the kids lunch and put them down for a nap just so she could put a coat of paint on the youngest's nursery wall.
She seemed like she felt a little bit lighter after our conversation. I then proceeded to give her my number and said if you ever need to talk or want to meet at the park again to play you can always give me a shout.
She then told me just by talking to me it lifted a huge load off her chest, but she didn't want to burden me with sharing her life. I told her that as Mother's that is what we are here for. We are here to support one another.
As mom's we bottle up our feelings or stresses. We know that our kids our the most important and forget to take care of ourselves. If we are struggling we should be able to open up and talk to the ones that support us. I know for myself sometimes it is easier to keep it all in.
I don't know if we will meet again but I would hope that If I were feeling that way I could open up and feel some relief that as Mom's we can lean on each other.
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