Perfection Pending

By Meredith Ethington

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Encouragement Gratitude Inspiration

I Was Counting Down The Seconds Until This Season Of Parenting. But, It’s Lonely.

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Motherhood is an experience that is always evolving. Sometimes as our kids grow older, our overwhelm with the demands of motherhood are replaced by loneliness as our kids grow up. It's the part of #momlife that I didn't expect. #motherhood #perfectionpending #loneliness #emptynest

My kids are all in school, and it should be a celebratory season in my life as a mother. I’ve finally got some freedom. I’m raising humans to leave me, right? I should be rejoicing in this season of parenting.

Some days, let’s be honest – I do rejoice.

For example, we went camping recently, and we had plenty of together time. I had so much together time that I needed non-together time so badly afterward. I needed a serious break from raising humans.

I got the kids off to school, eager to tackle work projects and hear silence. I was eager to not hear about someone annoying someone in the back seat, or how someone may or may not have tripped someone on purpose. I was eager to not hear the cries of whiny kids that were overly tired from too much fun.

And, my day was great. They were gone all day and I stayed in my pajamas until noon working. I had a quiet house. And, then the inevitable text came in. The one asking if my oldest could go hang at her friends’ house. I said no for no good reason except that I wanted her home.

I mean, in my head I had lots of logical reasons to say no. She needed to work on a school thing, she had laundry that’s been sitting unfolded in her room for 5 days. There were plenty of things I could give her to do. But, the truth was – I missed her.

They’re all growing up and some days, that reality swallows me whole.

They came home and got their snacks. And, then the house was eerily quiet again. They dispersed. One found his Rubik’s cube and started playing on it, the oldest went into her room to check what texts she had missed out on during the day from friends, and the littlest ran off to watch TV.

They were all home, but it was quiet.

I made a few assignments for after school things like hanging up backpacks and putting away shoes left out, and then they scattered again.

I felt a knot in my stomach as my oldest went to her room to fold her laundry and shut the door behind her.

I wanted to cry as I finished wiping up the counters and cleaning up dishes from snacks.

Why was I being an emotional wreck all of a sudden? I felt punched in the gut by the sound of a door closing.

The loneliness, the growing up, the not needing me as much anymore is the part of motherhood that I didn’t expect to be so hard. I was counting down the seconds until this season of life.

I have written about it before, and will probably write about it again. The growing up part is heartbreakingly beautiful, but it’s also lonely. There are lots of things I didn’t expect to feel.

When kids are little we can’t wait for the growing up part. We want the little chubby arms to finally be able to hug us tightly around the neck.

We can’t wait for the first smiles, first steps, and first words.

We excitedly celebrate the first hour and a half of alone time we might get when they are dropped off at preschool, or when we feel human by putting on real clothes for a girls’ night out.

We enjoy adult conversations eventually and can look at our phones when we are at the playground.

We freak out with excitement the first time they grab a bowl of cereal and turn on the TV on a Saturday morning and realize we might actually sleep again.

All of these little milestones (that are really huge when you add them up) eventually morph into something we don’t expect – loneliness.

I’m not really alone. I have my spouse. I have friends. I have plenty of girls’ nights and if I’m lucky I even have the occasional weekend away.

But, what I didn’t expect was to crave the company of my littles that aren’t so little anymore.

I crave the hugs, kisses, and cuddles now in a way that left me feeling touched out before. I want to just hang out with my people (my not so littles) more now that they want to close the door to the bedroom or put in some earbuds.

Yes – I still get annoyed by the raising humans aspect of my job. They infuriate me some days as much as I love them, but I didn’t expect how in a single moment – I could feel this way.

I didn’t expect to feel lonely while still being surrounded.

And, that’s why motherhood is heartbreaking work. I assume it always will be this way from now on. Because the reality is this – eventually the ones we love most are going to leave us.

And when they do, we’ll rejoice, while simultaneously breaking on the inside. Because that’s what mothers do.

Motherhood is an experience that is always evolving. Sometimes as our kids grow older, our overwhelm with the demands of motherhood are replaced by loneliness as our kids grow up. It's the part of #momlife that I didn't expect. #motherhood #perfectionpending #loneliness #emptynest


8 Comments

« Girl, Don’t Shower For Days. We Get You.
25 Times As a Parent When It’s OKAY Not To Enjoy Every Second »

Comments

  1. Jenny says

    January 10, 2019 at 9:46 pm

    This is beautifully written. You captured what I imagine are so many of us in the same boat. I go thru so many emotions in one – 24 hour period. Thank you for sharing!

    Reply
    • Meredith says

      January 10, 2019 at 10:14 pm

      Aww! Thank you for leaving a comment. So rare these days on blogs. ha!

      Reply
  2. Raquel says

    January 11, 2019 at 12:44 am

    Yes to this! I feel exactly the same way. We’ll get by,that’s for sure. And we know, deep down, that they love us, but it’s lonely alright. Hugs from a fellow mother of two, boy and girl (14 and 12).

    Reply
  3. Jen says

    January 11, 2019 at 9:16 pm

    Thank you for writing this. I feel silly for being sad about my little guy growing up. I’m in the process of signing him up for preschool next year and I know I will enjoy some time to myself but I will also miss spending every day with him because we have so much fun together. I’m not saying I don’t ever need a break because I definitely do but I will miss him and I feel kind of selfish saying that. I’m not sure how I’m going to handle him going off to college! Even though we spend our entire lives getting them ready to be off on their own I’m going to have to keep from crumbling when it happens!

    Reply
  4. Alyse says

    February 21, 2019 at 9:02 am

    Ahhh you brought me to tears with this post. I’m in the relentless, touched out stage (3 year old and an 8 month old) and your words are helping me appreciate it more. <3

    Reply
  5. Cathy C. says

    June 25, 2020 at 3:20 pm

    Take it from someone who’s been it – it WILL get better. It doesn’t have to be loneliness forever. My daughters turn 26 and 29 this summer, and they are now two of my best friends. The trick was not holding tightly with both hands to what I had in the past . . . I needed a free arm to embrace the future.

    Reply
  6. Pam says

    November 5, 2021 at 7:42 pm

    My littles have been gone for many years now (39 and 34). One lives with spouse about 2 hours away and the other with spouse and 15 month old about 1200 miles away.
    I am proud of their independence and all that they have accomplished in their lives. But for this mom (and dad too) it is lonely. Especially with these last 2 years of Covid and all that craziness, the challenges of spending time with my family are depressing.
    Enjoy every moment with your kids even when it’s whiny, fussy, fighting kids. Just remind yourself to step back, take a deep breath and create a memory for the future days of loneliness.

    Reply

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  1. 25 Times As a Parent When It's OKAY Not To Enjoy Every Second - Perfection Pending says:
    January 11, 2019 at 3:18 pm

    […] I Was Counting Down The Seconds Until This Season Of Parenting. But, It’s Lonely. […]

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Welcome! I’m Meredith.

Mom. Writer. Diet Coke connoisseur. Born and raised Texan. Lover of real talk and laughter with a hint of sarcasm mixed in.

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Night night! 😤 Night night! 😤
If you missed my last post about how raising teens If you missed my last post about how raising teens can wreck you mentally….wellll this is part of the reason why. So lonely! But we are in this together somehow. 😂 Make sure to check out my latest substack and grab a copy of my book —- The Mother Load!
NEW ---> "When there are problems in these big kid NEW ---> "When there are problems in these big kid years, it’s no longer really acceptable to call a friend and air the annoyances of the situation. At least not the specifics.

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WHAT IF THIS IS THE HAPPIEST I’LL EVER BE AND I WHAT IF THIS IS THE HAPPIEST I’LL EVER BE AND I MISS IT? What if I miss the best time of my life. What if it’s right this second?
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Today I had the thought, what if this is it? What if this IS the happiest I’ll ever be?
For a moment, I lingered in that thought as I stood over my sink and did the dishes. I started to cry.
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The state of our economy. Social media. People being unemployed. People being racist and homophobic. The debate over politics. People judging people. ALLLLLL of it. 

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