To be crying at this

Oh god. YABU a million times 🤑

If you are then so am I.

Nah, take me back to the 2000s, when we had love hearts and the best dance scene across Europe. My Mum and Nan would have gone back to the early 50s. My Mum, on a ordinary job, had a flat overlooking the Thames and went dancing every night. As said, this shit is always targeting women and how we should sacrifice ourselves on the alter of motherhood.

No, he’s wishing he could still fuck off on 20 mile rides if his knees didn’t hurt so much, so he didn’t have to sit and listen to the grandchildren screeching all afternoon.

It’s always women targeted with this bollocks. Like all we can do is live for our children, the only thing we will miss from youth is motherhood. It’s such a load of shit designed to keep us drudging on incase one day, we regret not doing it.

When I’m 80, I’m going to regret spending my 20s, 30s and so far, my 40s being a stay at home mum and never bloody doing or having anything for myself.

It touched me too.
I can barely remember those years now.

Oh don’t be ridiculous.

Urgh, there's always something around to make mothers feel guilty. It's never Derek in his bed at 80, wishing he'd spent less time cycling 100 miles in circles each weekend up instead of chipping in with family life and doting on his children, is it?

Not enough eye rolls 😂🤣😂

it was probably the output of ChatGPT.

Yep. So sentimental and sickly, but I’m crying too.

Ah yes, because life isn't complete for a woman unless she has multiple kids by the age of 32, a husband, and an amazing relationship with her mother.

Also the author can't decide whether the woman is 32 or 41.

Utter dross.

Yes have moments of gratitude, but I actually find these kinds of posts dangerous for people who are low, exhausted or struggling. Same with all the insta mums who write long, sentimental, naval gazing "inspiring" posts with a soft filtered photograph.

Life with young kids is hard. Relentless. Exhausting. And no one is a failure for not drinking in every bloody second of it. We are all human ffs.

Well I’m getting a bit tearful and as a single parent my household was nothing like that 🥲

It's basically designed to make women feel shit. Shit if they are currently living that life but not able to appreciate it because they're struggling or exhausted, or maybe have children with special needs; shit if they used to live that life and didn't appreciate it at the time for whatever reason, or desperately miss it, and shit if they never had the chance to live that life because of infertility or never meeting the right person or some other circumstances.

It's smug, mawkish and cynical.

At 32 I had a one year old that wouldn't sleep, wouldn't eat, it was actually one of the worst years of my life. I feel like I've always tried to make the most of every age and stage though so I'm happy where I am with a (now known to be autistic) young adult tbh!

Look, I had my first child at 21 and my last at 40 (with one in between).

When my youngest is 20, I’ll be 60 and I will have been a parent for 39 years. Children don’t just suddenly disappear when they get older, the situation changes and sometimes, being a parent can get harder.

I’m 45 and tired. If I live until 82, and I am finally in a peaceful house, I’ll think thank fuck. I will not want to go back to tantrums and cleaning up every five mins.

My grandmother had five children. She was always the one going, “oh you don’t have to come and visit. No really, please, go and live your life. No really, please don’t visit this weekend!”

She hid behind the sofa when her daughter and adult grandkids showed up as a surprise for her 80th birthday, she later said she just wanted a quiet day to eat a whole cake and drink wine with no one talking at her.

It’s naff and targeted at making women feel guilty for being overwhelmed, exhausted, burned out.

It’s easy to say “I don’t clear up straight away” and “I don’t mind the crumbs” if there’s not a hundred other tasks piling up while you frantically calculate when will you do another 2h work and which kid needs which new bits for school and DH reminding you the new shed is coming this weekend and you’ve not had 8h sleep in days and sex in weeks.

But don’t worry your burned out 32 year old head - here’s a soppy text to tell you it only gets WORSE so ENJOY IT!!!

Yes!!! That is how I'm feeling. I keep getting anxious that I didn't record more of them when they were tiny etc

The writing is absolutely shit and yes, mawkish, but I do take the point somewhat. Sometimes it's good to slow down and really look at what we have. One day we will miss the things that frustrate us about being parents when they are gone, and probably with the distortion of nostalgia.

Those moments where we stop for a moment are precious, because the reality of life is that we have things to do, places to be and tight timeframes.

I would love another day in one particular year before eldest DC's SEN became so apparent and limiting and they were still able to go to school, while DH was still healthy, when I was living in a country I loved in a job I felt fulfilled by, learning an interesting language and making friends left right and centre. To be able to talk again to my dad before he died and to my mum before dementia took over, and to stop my other family member going to work the night he was killed. And to place hefty bets on Leicester winning the league the year they did

Is it not quite a common sentiment?

Not even an eyeroll?

It’s mawkish guff intended to make women think the gruntwork is supposed to be a high point of their lives. Fuck that.

I hear you x

Wow! Calm down, please. It was well meant.

Sending a handhold @Shewasafaireh.

😭😭😭