When I became a mom at 17, and again at 19, I was judged and ridiculed for my choices. People, including people I loved very much, assumed that I would be a statistic. "Your life is over" is a phrase I became very familiar with.
I felt very isolated, unsupported, and overwhelmed.
I added to the stress by allowing abuse and co-dependency into my life for many years.
In the years that followed, I waited for things to magically start getting better or get some normalcy back. And although I was doing everything to be a “good mom” I didn’t feel like anything I was doing was good enough.
In fact, I started to believe I was always going to be miserable.
As a result, for many years of my motherhood journey, I was broken, tired, stressed, overwhelmed, frustrated, annoyed, and easily triggered... I was so burnt out and overstimulated.
Even though that time in my life was the most difficult, I learned a lot...
1.) There is no secret hack to creating happiness and fulfillment
2.) It is okay to put myself first, things actually worked out better when I did
3.) Our mindset controls our choices
4.) I may not be perfect but I am a good mom