Dear Rochester Moms,
Someone needs to say it. It doesn’t get said enough – so here goes.
At Christmastime, it can feel like you’re stuck behind the eight ball. As a mom, you are taking care of all of the things that your children and family need day-to-day. But now, there is the extra mental and physical load of orchestrating the holidays without dropping the ball. There still are practices, meetings, playdates, cleaning, meal planning, laundry, homework and now we are adding presents, stockings, Christmas cards, dinners, cookie decorating and building a gingerbread house on top of that.
We can feel insurmountable pressure to give our kids the picture-perfect Christmas for them to hold onto. If only we could “be enough” for our families, then we would have a wonderful, memorable Christmas. But know this – you are already enough.
You Are Enough
To the mom who is taking things one day a time – you are enough.
To the mom who feels alone and isolated – you are enough.
To the mom who is struggling with her emotions – you are enough.
To the mom who is exhausted – you are enough.
To the mom who just doesn’t have enough hours in the day – you are enough.
To the mom who just can’t make it out of the house today – you are enough.
To the mom who thinks if only she tried a little harder – you are enough.
To the mom who wishes she could just be a better mom – you are enough.
You are already enough for your children and family. You are a mom. The responsibility we have to care for little ones is huge, but it seems like we could be and do so much more if we just weren’t confined to limits of little things like energy, time, money, strength and patience. The truth is that your children are looking to you to guide and protect them, but they already think the world of you.
We Are Here To Support You
At Rochester Mom Collective, we strive to encourage moms and share family-friendly events like in our Ultimate Guide To Holiday Fun and take off some of the stress of scouring the internet. But we also want to support moms who are looking for help. That is why we have resources like our Guide To Mom Support Groups to show moms that there are places to build community with other moms. For the moms who need someone to talk to during the holiday season, we put together our Rochester Resources for Mental Health. If you are struggling with food scarcity, we hope that you will find our Resources for Food Pantries and Hot Meals helpful. For pregnant women and new moms, we have listed helpful businesses in our Guide To Pregnancy and Postpartum Care and our Guide To Infant Care Services. All of these and more can be found on our website when you click “Guides” in our menu.
You Are Doing It
To all moms this holiday season, whenever you start telling yourself that you are not measuring up, I want to encourage you to think of at least two things that you rocked at today.
YOU got the baby to the doctor appointment. YOU took the kids to practice. YOU made dinner tonight. YOU ordered dinner tonight. YOU got your kid to take a shower. YOU got the special project into their school backpack. YOU put a load of laundry away. YOU cuddled up with the kids and watched a Christmas movie. YOU got the green and red m&ms to make Christmas cookies. Those right there are all accomplishments and victories of a RocStar Mom.
This Christmas, I hope that you can be free from unrealistic expectations and enjoy your actual Christmas – not the Christmas that you think you’re supposed to be able to pull off, but the actual Christmas that you have with your family. And remember – you are enough.
Merry Christmas!
Jackie
