I'm an introverted mom, so sometimes I have to say no. So, I miss out.

Mommy needs 15 minutes to herself and starts to get herself ready for the day. Then you hear the pattering of little feet and a door creaking open…

When a mom helps another mom, she pays it forward. Because she knows what it's like to have a toddler in a tantrum on a hot summer day.

When I'm too busy to lay with you at night, I hope one day you'll understand. Because I know right now your little heart is disappointed.

“Your mommy, she’s a superhero,” a stranger said, smiling at my kids on our walk, his intent being a compliment. “No, I’m so not!”

I was talking to my husband, and he started laughing, “Dani, open the fridge!” I slowly opened it to a bin of pretzel rods sitting next to the cartons of milk.

The worriers in the family all look similar. We are the ones huddled together at get-togethers with furrowed brows.

Sometimes I feel like I’m drowning in a pool of worries. The anxiety of so much to do all the time. The mental load of motherhood looming over my shoulders at every turn.

There are so many reasons why you should be allowed to cry. Maybe your kids won’t stop arguing and hitting, and gosh, are you raising brats?

I have so many days where I look at my children acting wild and tell them in a breathy whisper of defeat, "you guys need to really behave, or I can't do this anymore." As in, I can't mom anymore.

Depression and anxiety are real. They aren't physical, but you can see them if you look close enough.

There’s no alone time in motherhood. And when there’s a long day filled with tattling siblings, screaming, and playing nonstop, it’s okay to crave some quiet moments within it.

We’ve all been her, a parent in a struggle feeling like she’s not enough. Like, she maybe shouldn’t be a mom.

Why do moms yell? Because we’re overwhelmed. Because no one’s listening. Because our kids are about to get hurt. “Don’t put your hand in there!”

I was cleaning up the mess on the playroom floor when I heard, “can you lay with me?” My middle daughter was watching a movie and wanted me to cuddle up next to her.

You want to fast forward through the hard and get to the better everyone is talking about, but there’s a reason you can’t do that.

Every mom feels guilt at times. It’s inescapable. This guilt comes from expectations and the belief that we’re falling short.

When you describe me, my children, I want you to say, “my mom was strong and a good human. She had her struggles and wasn’t perfect, but she taught us how to rise no matter what.”

Mental illness is an inconvenience. There are days we wake up and feel off and think, ugh, not today. Because we know it's going to be a day we struggle with our mental health.

Mommy can always fix what’s bothering a child: a lost pacifier, or a bad dream. But she doesn't have superpowers.