This is the dream. Right?
You wake up and through the haze of remembering what day it is and counting the number of times you were smacked in the face by your sick toddler sleeping in your bed, you hear it for the first time…
“MOOOOM!!!!”
The day has begun and before your head hits the pillow tonight, you will hear a lot of interesting things. From fights over boogers, to drama from the bully at school…moms are listeners by trade and specialize as a shoulder to cry on in some of life’s hardest moments.
Recently, while I was responding to the um-teenth time toddler mom call of the morning, I thought to myself…”what do moms really need to hear?”
Sure, we hear all about the world around us, but when do we ever get to tune that out and listen to the things that uplift and help our lives?
I bet there are a lot of things that I need to be hearing that I don’t because I forget to listen. I want to share 10 things that moms need to hear more often. These are the things they deserve to hear, but don’t hear enough.
Photos in this article are by our incredible photographer, Christine Olson Photography
1. IT’S OKAY TO LAUGH, IN FACT YOU SHOULD DO IT DAILY – Every mom has had {or will have…guaranteed} that moment when they can choose to cry or laugh. It’s in the moment of despair of wondering “is this real life?” and “what in the world am I supposed to do right now?” It may happen when you are at the grocery store and your new baby decides to have a blow-out diaper, it may be at the park when your toddler refuses to go down the slide because it is time to go home.
It may be at a restaurant when your kid doesn’t want to sit in his chair and it may be in the privacy of your own home, when you feel overwhelmed with your lists of things to do, dishes to clean, laundry to put away and children to teach. When this happens, laugh. Learn to laugh at yourself. Learn to laugh at situations. Learn to laugh at the struggles of “the mom life.” Learn to laugh, so you don’t cry.
2. IT’S OKAY TO RUN LATE, GOOD FOR YOU FOR GETTING OUT OF THE HOUSE – You’re a mom? And you are leaving the house? AWESOME! Seriously. Getting yourself ready is hard enough, let alone getting a child {or several children!} ready and out the door. Finding the time for you to shower, get your make-up on, do your hair and get dressed is quite the accomplishment!
But then getting another little human ready and finding missing shoes, extra diapers, packing snacks, filling up a sippy cup, finding shoes that went missing AGAIN, changing the diaper that just got poopy as you were walking out the door, then destroying the house looking for your keys and cell phone, that happened to be in your back pocket the entire time… is literally award-winning! Good for you. Don’t worry about being late. Look what you just did!
3. IT’S OKAY TO NOT GET READY, YOU ARE LOOKIN’ GOOD – So you don’t have time to shower for the second day in a row? Or you don’t have time to brush your “day three” hair? No worries. You look cute, you’re a mom! You don’t have time to go to the gym every morning? Or you do go to the gym and you just can’t get those baby pounds off? No worries. Your body is perfect, you’re a mom! You don’t want to wear a swimsuit because of your stretch marks? Or you don’t want to even wear shorts because of your “extra skin?” No worries. You are beautiful, you’re a mom!
4. IT’S OKAY TO BE CLUELESS, YOU PROBABLY ARE – Moms are going to have days where they feel like they have no idea what is going on. With so many opinions on formula or breastfeeding, cloth or disposable diapers, cry-it-out or rock-the-baby, and stay-at-home or working moms, it’s easy to get confused and to wonder what is the “correct” way of being a mom. The right way to be a mom really though… is to just do your best. Do what you feel is right for you and your family and run with it.
5. IT’S OKAY TO BE CRAZY, WE ALL ARE – You will have days where you feel like you might just lose your mind. COMPLETELY. You might do weird things or randomly start crying for no reason. It happens to the best of us – all you can do is accept the fact that you are a mom, and moms are crazy, so that makes you a little crazy.
6. IT’S OKAY TO FEEL OVERWHELMED, YOU’VE GOT THIS – Believe in yourself. Know that you are capable of handling all situations. You know what you are doing! You know that you’re doing your very best! You know that you can’t do it ALL! Just do what you can and everything will fall into place.
7. IT’S OKAY TO BE LONELY, BUT KNOW THAT YOU AREN’T ALONE – When you feel like nobody understands – know that someone has gone through it too. When you feel like nobody will listen – know that someone is waiting for someone to come talk to them. When you feel like giving up – know that it is worth it. It is worth every heartache and pain. It is worth every tear and complaint. It is worth it now and it will be worth it tomorrow.
8. IT’S OKAY TO HAVE FUN, YOU DESERVE IT – Being a mom doesn’t always have to be hard or tough. Being a mom can bring the most happiness into your life, if you let it. ENJOY the now! Treasure every single day. Do something exciting. Be spontaneous. Laugh a lot. Do something for yourself. Do something for someone else.
Celebrate holidays. Celebrate non-holidays and “just because” days. Sing at the top of your lungs. Dance like nobody is watching. Treat yo’ self. Go on a vacation. Go to the park. Lay in bed. Stay in bed. Go shopping. Play dress up. Play trucks and cars. Do what makes you happy. HAVE FUN.
9. IT’S OKAY TO ASK FOR HELP, WE ALL NEED SOME – Don’t ever think you can do it alone or think you NEED to do it alone. There are people placed in your path in life for a reason. Ask for help – seek for help – even if it seems silly.
10. IT’S OKAY IF YOU FEEL LIKE YOUR HEART IS GOING TO EXPLODE, THAT IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU’RE A MOM. AND A WAY GOOD ONE TOO – It’s true. The love you will feel in your heart the moment you become a mom is indescribable. It is one of those things you honestly can’t explain, but you want to explain it to everyone! Never will you love someone SO much! Never will you be SO exhausted! Never will you be SO happy! Never will you be SO excited! Never will you be SO absolutely, whole-heartedly, 100%, IN LOVE. Your heart will feel like it is about to burst because you literally ache for happiness, joy, safety, good health and LOVE for your baby.
YOU are a good mom. Yes, YOU! To the mom who is laying in the hospital bed, holding her new baby… you are a good mom. To the mom who is exhausted and trying to keep your eyes open to read this last paragraph… you are a good mom. To the mom hiding in the closet trying to get a minute to yourself… you are a good mom.
To the mom sitting in her car as your toddler sleeps in his carseat behind you and you don’t want to wake him up so you are just chillin… you are a good mom. To the mom who is sick and can’t wait to get better for her children… you are a good mom. To the mom who is working hard to provide for her family right now… you are a good mom. To the mom in tears of not knowing what to do or where to go… you are a good mom. To every mom out there who is trying your very best… you are a good mom.
YOU are! And you don’t hear it enough. You don’t hear any of these ten things enough. So read this over and over… print it out…put it somewhere that you can see often… and remember “it’s okay.”
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Danielle is the owner of Today's the Best Day. She strives to provide creative and uplifting content in order to enrich the parenting experience for women everywhere. Danielle hopes to help you and your family to make every day the best day! 
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