Hey, mama. I’m talking to you.

The mom who:

runs around endlessly doing stuff for her kids,

checks on them throughout the night when they’re sick,

lets them leave their Cheerios on the floor of her minivan,

keeps extra toys in the same van so they won’t get bored,

works on endless research projects with the kids,

yells at them to put their shoes on every single morning without fail,

wishes she didn’t yell at them so much,

makes the kids lunches,

deals with the never-ending drop-off line at school,

runs late to every appointment,

keeps the kids clothed and fed,

worries about meal planning,

tries to get in some exercise because what the hell is that pooch on your belly,

stresses about not buying good valentines and sending the kid to school with generic ones,

drinks a bottle of wine every night,

is drowning in postpartum depression,

has her good days and her bad days,

tries hard not to forget the good days but does when the bad ones take over,

stinks from lack of showering,

hides her greasy hair in a baseball cap,

wishes she could declutter her house… and her brain,

can never find her car keys, or the kids’ socks, or a clean pair of underwear, or her sanity…

You know who you are.

And you know what it is that makes you a good mom.

I can bet you that even you know that it’s not all of these things that you do for your kids that makes you amazing.

It’s that at the end of the day, whether or not you’ve gone to all the soccer practices, given them generic valentines, done the laundry, kept the house clean, given them a bath or scheduled umpteen playdates, no matter what you’ve done that day, you feel that surge of love as you tuck them in and kiss them goodnight.

It might just be because you know that you’re about to get a few hours of sleep and a beer, but still…You’re an extraordinary mom.

And you know it. So stop telling yourself that you’re not.