Peta Todd says some days it’s ok for mums to scream and cry — you’re only human
Mum-of-three Peta Todd talks about the lonely and exhausting moments of being a parent
I LOVE my children dearly. I love being a mum and a wife, too, but there are some days when it all gets a bit much.
When, from the minute I awake, I count down the hours until bedtime.
I know people will say I am ungrateful. But I think of it as honest.
Nobody talks to you, when you are trying for a family, about the lonely or exhausted days. Those times when you wonder whether you are making the best decisions.
I have a friend who is a successful professional, who had longed for a baby for years and was overjoyed when her daughter arrived.
She called me in tears a week or so after the birth asking why nobody told her the highs were so high but the lows were so low.
She resented her husband for his swift return to work and she wasn’t sure she was doing anything right.
With so much advice being offered, she felt none of it seemed to fit her.
All I could do was listen and tell her that every emotion was normal.
I told her to take the help if it was offered and to stop trying to be a martyr – even if it just meant she could drink a cup of tea when it was still warm – and to do what worked for them as a new family.
The problem is we are in an era of social media where most of us only document the good stuff. I am guilty of this, too.
We are so scared to sound ungrateful that we fall short on supporting each other through the turbulence as we pretend we only ever fly in blue skies.
The truth is sometimes my husband’s breathing can annoy me.
And occasionally my children telling tales on each other makes me want to scream and run away.
But that is all normal and is part of being a mum. It doesn’t make you ungrateful or cold, but human.
And probably a little bit tired, too.
