Real talk

"Today you are You, that is truer than true.  There is no one alive who is Youer than You."
~ Dr. Seuss

Hey, Mama.  I saw you today.
Feeling Lonely.
Unappreciated.
Inadequate.
Maybe your teenager screamed at you.  "I hate you!"
Maybe your significant other looked at you askance.
Maybe your toddler wiped out and got hurt when your back was turned.
Or maybe it's just that mountain of laundry waiting to be done.
I hear similar sentiments from women on the regular.  Daily, we give our families the best of ourselves.
Our time.
Our energy.
Our love.
Our sleep.
Dear, sweet sleep.
Yet still, we are selling ourselves short.
"I used to be smart."

"I'm a rotten housekeeper."
"I'm so overweight."
"Who even am I?"
Ladies, you are good enough.
Your love is enough.
Is your family fed?
Clothed?
Housed?
You. are. enough.
Your teenager who screamed at you today?  She did that because you have created an environment in which she feels safe expressing herself, and all those big feelings that she doesn't yet know how to appropriately convey.
The significant other who gave you the side-eye?  You are not responsible for his feelings.
Toddlers fall, y'all.  You couldn't have stopped it if you'd been right there.
You are enough.
All that information you "used to" know?  It's still there.  You just don't need it in your daily life, so your brain pushed it to the back to make room for the information you DO need.
Cleaning with small humans in the house is fruitless.  You're working way harder for that semblance of order than your mother, because there's no one running along behind her wrecking everything she just did.
So what if you don't have the same figure you did when you were 16?  You grew those little people inside your body!  Cut yourself some slack, Mama!
You're still you.
And you are enough.
I am enough.
And I will have some very colorful words for anyone who tells us otherwise.
Ladies, we are in a season.  As they say:  The days are long, but the years are short.  I have a little baby who will be celebrating her 18th birthday in one short month to confirm that statement.  I'm not going to tell you to enjoy it, or that you'll miss them when they're gone.  You're not going to miss that toddler screeching all day long.  Frankly, you probably won't remember it that much.  Selective memory is a beautiful thing.
What I am going to tell you is that you. are. enough.
Hold on to the little joys.
Love fiercely.
Dance.
Sing.
Write.
Or whatever else it is that recharges your batteries.
Sleep as much as you can.
And remember that you are enough.