Woman posts candid Facebook photo that shows ‘wet hair, yesterday’s make-up and tears’ to explain how hard being a single mum is
Aly Brothers' post about her two toddlers Bentley and Levi has gone viral since she shared it last month
A MUM's candid photo shared on Facebook to show 'motherhood is HARD' has taken the internet by storm.
Single mother Aly Brothers, from West Virginia, America, uploaded a close-up selfie after an early morning shopping trip.
She said it contained "no fancy filters", just "messy hair that's wet from the rain, yesterday's makeup that I was too tired to wash off, and tears".
Her post has since gone viral, evoking 32,000 reactions on the social media site and clocking up more than 15,350 shares.
The 22-year-old explained how her tears started at the supermarket, as the cashier handed her the receipt, and "continued for the entire drive home".
She added: "Tears that were passed on to my oldest in the backseat because he doesn't like to see his mommy cry.
"We know how much boys love their mothers."
Aly told how her two sons, three-year-old Bentley and 20-month-old Levi, kicked off while she browsed the aisles for milk.
She wrote: "They weren't having it. My youngest cried almost the entire time we were in the store.
"He didn't want to sit in the cart, he didn't want to be buckled, he wanted to hold all the groceries on his lap.
"He got mad. He threw his shoe, he threw my wallet, he threw the three groceries that did fit on his lap. And he cried. And people stared."
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While this was "fine", Bentley then wanted to be superman and stand on the trolley.
Aly went on: "That was fine. I told him to hold on and stand straight. He did not.
"He fell off, he leaned backwards and knocked things off their displays. He leaned back and bumped a stranger.
"Then I made him get down and he walked too far ahead of me and opened all the freezer section doors telling me all the things he wanted to get. I tried to handle that.
"I stopped multiple times and composed myself and my children.
"The lady that I stopped and moved to the side of the aisle for glared at me because I moved the wrong way, she needed behind me not in front of me.
"No words, just a glare. I tried to handle that."
THEN they saw the balloons.
Aly continued: "And then we saw balloons. Oh how my kids love balloons.
"They wanted the huge ones that cost $8.00. I compromised.
"We would get one balloon and share. They agreed. They each said 'share'."
Trouble is, when it came to it, they didn't want to share.
This was the final straw for Aly, who "lost it" when she overheard an older gentleman whisper, 'She's pretty young for two kids'."
She confessed: "I cried. They don't know me. They don't know me as a mother. They don't know my children.
"They don't know I was married before I started a family.
"They don't know I left that marriage because of abuse knowing I would have it just as hard as a single mother.
"It's hard people. The glares and whispers and judgements are hard.
"Sometimes I can control my children and sometimes I can't.
"Sometimes they listen and sometimes they don't.
"Sometimes I can handle it and sometimes I break down.
"I know these days will pass, the tears will stop, the fighting will cease, and my babies will be grown. And that will be hard too."
She concluded: "So if you see a parent struggling, if you see a kid throwing a tantrum, if you see a mom on the verge of tears...please say something nice.
"Please don't glare with judgement. And to all moms out there having a day like mine...I see you, I know you, I love you.
"You are strong and you are doing just fine."
Thousands flocked to comment on her post, with many mums offering up their support.
One wrote: "Thank you for sharing this! From one single mom to another, Your doing great!! (sic)"
Another said: "I cried reading your post like I have so many times when my almost three year old daughter is having a 'bad day'. Thank you so much, from the bottom of my heart for this post."