One of my best friends just moved back to the States after living in Australia for a few years, and while she was working in Sydney she would document her experience riding the metro in this way:
Every experience she wrote about was equally hilarious and creepy (and sometimes gross. Or terrifying. Oftentimes both).
These observations always me laugh first thing in the morning when I was scrolling through my newsfeed. (Not that I'm admitting that checking facebook is the first thing I do after my alarm goes off or anything...)
So I decided to thieve her idea and correspond with one of my friends who is also a new mom about our failed attempts at parenting.
We decided to text each other every time one of us screwed up so that we wouldn't feel so bad knowing that someone else is also drowning in laundry, hasn't showered in a couple days, and barely maintaining a grip on our sanity.
I've included some selections* for your enjoyment. Don't mind the blurred out stuff--my friend (and her baby) shall remain nameless! Because I want to stay friends.
*my texts are in blue
Alas, I miss the days when my bad decisions consisted of buying single-stuffed oreos. Or off-brand Saran wrap.
Now, I second-guess almost every decision. I literally stood in the bottle aisle at Target for half an hour one day because I was paralyzed by my fear of making a mistake. Because I'm terrified of having another parenting fail.
But I think if we all just talked about how much (and often) we screw up as parents, we'll realize that it's something that ALL moms (and dads!) do, and it doesn't make us love our kids any less. In fact, we get so upset by our mistakes it just reaffirms our love for them.
So if you're a new mom, befriend another first-time mother so you can share joy in your triumphs and sorrows in your faults.
"A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones."
-Proverbs 17:22
So laugh together.
Cry together.
Share motherhood together.