“I need to buy a gallon of milk for the kids on the way home. Or, maybe it’ll be better if I buy two. I need to iron a pile of clothes after dinner. I can go to the supermarket this Saturday when the children are visiting my parents. I need to pack their bags and I must not forget to send their favorite toys. Oh, and I need to buy something for dinner as well. Pizza, maybe? No, I am tired of pizza. I’ll make the kids something healthy to eat as soon as I get back home…”
Thoughts like these burden a mother through her day 24/7. It’s like they never end.
These thoughts are also known as the mental load – load which is not visible to everyone, but it’s heavy in terms of its responsibility and expectation.
Some people think that there’s simply no such thing as the mental load of motherhood. Well, perhaps they’re right. Because mothers are natural caretakers, providers, and protectors. Taking care of and protecting their children comes naturally to them. That’s why most moms take these responsibilities without even being aware of it.
Folding the laundry after lunch, last-minute parties, and regular appointments with her kids’ pediatrician always occupy a mother’s mind. She puts her children’s needs before her own. She devotes her energy and time to them. And by doing so, she leaves very little time for herself.
But she does all of this not because she feels like she’s obliged to, but because she wants to. She takes care of and protects her kids even when she is exhausted. Even when she feels physically and mentally drained.
She does this although no one feels the weight she’s carrying on her shoulders.
She does this because she wants the best for her loved ones.
She does this because, for her kids, she is willing to carry any load. Because she cares about her loved ones genuinely. She loves them truly and deeply.
