Moms don’t just take care of the kids. They do the laundry, clean the house, keep track of appointments, shuttle their kids back and forth to school and sports, and do about a dozen or more other things.
But most people never think about this.
And one mom named Erin Pepler, a Canadian blogger had finally had enough. She wrote about the “invisible workload of motherhood” for a website called Urban Moms.
“Ask any mom about the invisible workload of motherhood and she knows exactly what you’re talking about. It’s the things we do for our families that are necessary but go completely unnoticed,” she explains. “The endless list of small tasks that would only ever draw attention if they didn’t happen. The mental weight of doing it all, remembering it all, feeling every emotion in your family and worrying, constantly.”
Some of the invisible jobs include taking note of the household food inventory, picking up groceries, and planning for meals when sports take place of dinner at home.
Or making note of how long those leftovers have been in the fridge.
“It’s noticing that maple syrup has spilled in the back of the fridge and silently cleaning it up, tossing out an old salad dressing and some uneaten pasta as you go,” she explains. “The invisible workload carries over to the pile of school forms and birthday party invitations on the counter, the lunch bag that needs replacing and the school shoes that are getting too small.”
And who is in charge of switching out summer wardrobes in the dresser for a winter one?
Yep, you guessed it… mom.
Who makes sure the kids don’t look like wild animals and have their haircut and nails clipped… mom.
“The list looks somewhat different to everyone, but it never ends. Sometimes, it’s about stocking the cupboards with toilet paper, dish soap, paper towels, shampoo, and toothpaste. Other times, it’s why a new kettle appears when the old one breaks, or a babysitter shows up on date night. It’s buying and wrapping the presents for those birthday parties, knowing the names of the kids and parents at the party, and understanding which kid your child is avoiding and why.”
In addition to things like making holidays happen, moms do both invisible and visible jobs.
“Whether your day is spent working outside the house or at home with a young family, it’s likely that you’re busy as hell and being pulled in five different directions at any given moment. Your mornings are chaos and your 9-5 is either spent in an office or with your lovable yet incredibly demanding offspring. Then there’s dinner, maybe homework, bedtime routine, and finally, free time . . . which you’ll use mostly to care for others,” she explains.
Pepler just wants people to be aware of just how much moms do and maybe, once in a while, offer a smile or a high five.
“No particular event provoked the article – just a build up of feelings and comments. It’s an important topic and I meant every word” she told Bored Panda. However, there are some things she said she’d word differently right now. “The one thing I regret about the article is that a lot of people interpreted it to mean that my husband is sort of useless.”
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