Being a Mother Really Is Enough

I am a mother.

And I am enough.

And so are you.

I am enough when I choose to sit in quiet and drink my coffee instead of preparing breakfast.

I am enough when I leave the clothes in the washer well beyond the essential 24-hour period.

I am enough when I let their outgrown clothes pile up like a mountain out of neglect and, perhaps, out of resistance to the idea that those clothes no longer fit my babies.

I am enough when I try with all my might to make a point across for the millionth time and then, like a branch, I snap.

I am enough when I cry because the day was so incredibly hard.

I am enough when I choose to smile and laugh instead of making dinner.

I am enough when I choose to hide in my room, away from the noise.

I am enough when I choose to numb out on social media talking with friends.

I am enough when I hold their hands to the bus stop even though they are old enough to walk alone.

I am enough when I drive the lunch bag or water bottle or forgotten homework to the school even though she needs to learn a lesson.

I am enough when I choose to forget teachable moments and just let a moment pass, unnoticed.

I am enough when I am inconsistent.

I am enough when I say yes and then no.

I am enough when I say no and then yes.

I am enough when my children aren't perfect and well-behaved.

I am enough when the house is a mess.

I am enough when I make that off-centered, odd-looking costume that didn't turn out at all like its picture on Pinterest.

I am enough when I buy a store-bought potato salad to take to the school party.

I am enough when things go wrong.

I am enough when things go very, very wrong.

I am enough because I am a mother.

And being a mother is enough.

DISCUSS: Go ahead. Compete this sentence: I am enough when ______________.