The real reason parenting exhausts you. HINT: It's not because it's tiring. ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

It's no secret that parenting can be exhausting. 

All the caretaking. All the bicker-brokering. All the driving. 

But while all of those can be tiring, they are not what exhaust you. 

 Here is what actually exhausts you:

👉 The worry - You lie awake at night wondering if you are doing a good enough job for this little soul you love so dearly, and frantically trying to understand why, despite your love, both of you are sometimes filled with anxiety, shame, and anger.

👉 The invisibility - You spend the day cajoling reticent toddlers, negotiating with fantastical 6 year olds, and wresting the screen from your teenager. You pass out not just from the hard work you do each day but from the fact that no one acknowledged your brilliance as you did it. Not even you. 

👉 The pull of generations past - Maybe your parents were awesome and you can't figure out why your family life seems so much more complicated, or maybe your childhood was more of an example of what you didn't want to replicate, and as fast as you run from it, it seems to be chasing you. 

👉 The overwhelm - So many voices (school, pediatrician, friends, blogs, podcasts) all seem to know exactly what you should do, but none of them feel like they know YOU. You are stuck between wanting to listen to them because maybe they are right, and wanting to tell them all to shut up so you can finally hear yourself for once. But the truth is you don't know how to find yourself in the silence. No one ever taught you, as they were all too interested in showing you their opinions and not interested enough in helping you form your own.

What helps? 

  ❤️ Well, if you're tired, then naps help. 

 ❤️ ❤️ If you are exhausted, then you need regeneration from the ground up.

That takes time but is so incredibly worth it. And since I know time is a precious resource in your world, every week I will give you a small piece of the puzzle to put your world back together again and help you find YOUR voice, so you can find YOUR strength.

Today's piece? Clarity on why your knees are feeling weak in the first place. 

Understanding the problem properly is the first step to solving it.  

Which means after reading this, you are one step closer to YOUR right path. 👋