She wasn’t amused. In fact, she thought I was a monster.

But you know what…raising tiny humans is effing hard work. And the mommy culture can be a battlefield sometimes…

Hands down – the biggest struggle that I have always endured as a parent, is the lack of other parents openly sharing in the challenge. While our children will always be the best decision we ever made [twice!]…the actual act of parenting is one of the hardest things I’ve ever done in my life. I’ve never cried more or laughed more. I’ve never missed anyone more or needed space more. I’ve never been more proud or been more ashamed. I’ve never felt more needed or more rejected. I’ve never felt more blessed or more homicidal. And yet, I’ve never wanted “out”. I’ve wanted a drink…I’ve wanted a day off…I’ve wanted to eat a meal while it’s still hot. But I’ve never wanted out. Mostly though, I have wanted someone else to look at my exhausted, tear soaked face and tell me that I wasn’t alone. I’ve wanted someone to tell me that it’s okay to love your children and not necessarily like them at the same time. I’ve wanted someone to tell me that it’s okay to wish the gypsies were coming through town so they could abduct the three foot tall dictators who started running my life. I’ve wanted someone to tell me that it’s okay to not actually like sitting on the floor, playing with toy trains for eleven hours straight. I’ve wanted someone to tell me it’s okay to have a “back-to-school” advent calendar…mentally counting down the days until I can miss and be missed again [even though I’ll bawl my eyes out at the bus stop]. I’ve wanted someone to tell me that it’s okay to not be roaming the streets with pom-poms, telling everyone how magical my life is because I’m a mother.

My name is Gen. I love being a parent. But I don’t always love parenting.