Darlos Olmsted WallingaWife, Mother of five, Blogger, Dance Teacher
November 3, 2017
As a mother, there are a plethora of expectations that I place on myself. The expectation of being the involved mom, the loving mom, the organized mom, the working mom, and the level-headed mom. Lately, I have failed in all categories except loving mom. No matter what happens in my life I seem to be able to ensure that my children are very aware of how much they are loved and valued. My Superhero powers have recently been taken away by Kryptonite. Kryptonite being stress. I have spread myself so thinly that I overstressed myself enough to end up in the hospital. I was at work and had been suffering from crippling headaches when I collapsed. I still have very little memory of this other than my friends who were extremely worried and moved quickly to get EMS support. I was evaluated overnight with multiple tests done and the ultimate diagnosis was stress and anxiety. This is not talked about enough! I was always under the impression that we moms were expected to show our best face all the time and never let anyone know how overwhelmed you have become. Being a mother IS overwhelming at times. I’m sure all you moms can agree that we occasionally lose our superpowers to stress kryptonite but do our very best to hide it at all costs.
Help!
What would our world be like if we could admit that we, in fact, do need help occasionally? What if we were free to talk about it with each other without the fear of being looked down upon as a mom? I will start. I am the mother of five children. My oldest has special needs and will be transitioning to a supported living facility. My youngest is hypoglycemic and needs frequent monitoring. My three middle children also have their own interests and needs. This past month has been very trying with my oldest as we prepare to move him into a supported living facility so that he can learn more independent skills as an adult. This is incredibly hard for me as a mom. The emotions that run through my heart are forever changing from hope, fear, reluctance, heartbreak, and pride.
Support Each Other
My son is excited about his new journey and I feel comfort in that. Moms (and dads) need to be able to share these emotions with each other. Parenting is hard and if we all start supporting each other instead of judging each other, we might all just be able to cope a little easier. Support from our parenting community can restore our superpowers when they have been threatened by kryptonite. I guarantee it!
Follow Darlos on https://raisingmyfamilyup.wordpress.com/. Here you can read more stories that will inspire you to own your feelings while encouraging other moms. Darlos lives in Wesely Chapel Florida with her husband and five children. She also a dance teacher at Song and Dance, Inc, also in Wesley Chapel.
Source: Complimentary Image/Darlos Olmsted Wallinga and Photographer/Wavebreakmedia
