One mom’s candid Facebook post openly admitting her relatable parenting slip-ups and imperfections — complete with a frazzled selfie featuring her holding a container of celery — has gone viral in recent days.
Kara Lewis Newton’s description of her picture starts by explaining why she’s holding the large Tupperware of chopped celery.
“Chopped celery. That’s what I’m driving to my son’s school today. Why? Because I don’t look in his folder,” Newton wrote.” I missed that he needed to bring chopped celery to school today, and I have no idea why he needs it, but he does. So I’m driving it to him praying that he gets it on time.”
From there, the mom-of-three admitted that she sometimes misses things, going on to list the minor parenting slip-ups that oft-times come with balancing the chaos of kids, a full-time job, events and activities and other happenings.
“I miss things. My kids don’t always have clean socks. We ate at Wendy’s last night,” Newton continued. “I forget to RSVP to parties. We never have cash when we need it. My kid doesn’t always have his coat. There might be Halloween candy in their lunches. I sign without reading sometimes. And I don’t always check my kids folders.”
Despite those candid admissions, Newton wrote that she loves her kids ― Silas, 11, Lila, 10, and 6-year-old Jack — and that she and her husband, Luke, work “dang hard for them.” In the end, she hopes her children don’t remember the small mistakes, but that they instead recognize the intense love and devotion she has for them.
“I am praying they remember how hard I fought for them everyday to have a good life…one where they know they are fiercely loved no matter what,” she concluded.
Newton’s post has been “liked” more than 57,000 times, shared nearly 27,000 times and has garnered over 2,100 comments. Clearly, people — and parents in particular — can relate to her struggles.
The mom told The Huffington Post that she decided to post the photo and commentary due to the fact that she’s been overwhelmed and has felt guilty after inevitable parenting mistakes.
“I knew that if I were struggling to keep up, other moms had to be, too. I figured my ‘real life’ confessions might encourage someone else,” she said. “No matter how organized and together we may be, we always feel like we’ve missed something.”
Newton continued, “Every mom at some point in time feels like she is failing. In a world of social media, where everyone posts the ‘highs’ of their day, we are often left feeling like we don’t measure up.”
She said many moms have reached out to thank her for the candid post.
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