One mom’s Facebook post is going viral for reminding fellow moms that “you can’t do it all,” and that is more than okay.
“Today, I was efficient AF,” mom Karen Johnson, a mom of three in Wisconsin, began. “I registered my son for tennis. I rented a clarinet for my daughter (she’s trying out band!) I dropped my other son’s epi-pen paperwork at the pediatrician’s office to be filled out (school starts Wednesday for us). I grocery shopped, including buying chicken to grill and veggies to roast (like this broccoli) for tonight’s dinner. I bought more allergy meds for my son.”
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“I had a painter come by to give us a quote on a painting project. I picked up my son’s friend so he could have a play date (or whatever middle schoolers call it — a hang out?) I paid bills. I came home, grilled said chicken and roasted said broccoli, and worked out (I’m still sweaty in this picture).”
“Also, I work full time from home, so guess what else I did? Worked a full day. Created a presentation, wrote an article, did 900 other things my job requires of me daily, and communicated all day with my coworkers. I also drank 6 glasses of water AND ate a salad for lunch! A SALAD people. Like, I killed it today. Seriously. EFFICIENT AF.”
“How did I do it all? What’s the magic secret? Lean in, friends. Lemme tell you. My kids were on screens all the d**** day. I barely saw them. They fed themselves breakfast and lunch (food foraging was the only time they emerged from the basement) and I’m pretty sure they ate ice cream for breakfast and Oreos for lunch. I don’t even know. There were definitely zero fruits consumed.”
“Also, the house is trashed. We just got back from a 2-week vacation Saturday night and still haven’t finished unpacking. S*** is everywhere. Like EV. ER. Y. WHERE. No one can find underwear or socks. Or that’s all they can find and they’re basically naked. There’s no in-between.”
“That’s how I managed such an ‘efficient’ day.”
“Listen, anyone who tells you that you can do it all—that you can parent the way you’ve been guilted into believing you need to parent, and maintain a career you very much deserve and likely need to support your family, and do all the 843 errands moms always need to do like rent fricking clarinets and buy Zyrtec for your allergy-ridden child who ran out last night, and cook healthy meals for your family, and exercise and eat salads and drink water (self care!) and keep your house clean and actually know where your kids are and what they’re doing—anyone who says you can do all of that is lying.”
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“Do you hear me? LYING. Something HAS to give. In fact, many things have to give. There is no other way.”
“I did a million things today. Go me, right? But guess what? I also didn’t do a million things today. Maybe tomorrow I’ll finally unpack and put everything away and find everyone’s socks. Maybe tomorrow I’ll make my kids take screen breaks and go outside and read books and not be screen zombies. But then, maybe I won’t work out and won’t get all my work done for my actual job and we’ll end up ordering takeout or eating cereal for dinner.”
“You can’t do it all. None of us can. Be proud of what you do—however long or short that list is—because tomorrow’s another day with another list. And you’ll rock it tomorrow, in some ways. And in some ways, you won’t. Because that’s motherhood.”
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