There was a time when I felt like I was just surviving each day. I’d wake up already behind, rush through routines, and collapse at night feeling like I hadn’t been present enough. The guilt? Heavy. The exhaustion? Constant. I wanted to enjoy motherhood more, but I wasn’t sure how. It felt like the only way to get there was by doing more—being more patient, more fun, more organized. But the truth is, the secret to enjoying motherhood isn’t about adding more to our plates. It’s about letting go and shifting our focus to what truly matters.
Somewhere along the way, we’ve been told that a good mom has it all together—the clean house, the perfectly packed lunches, the Pinterest-worthy activities. But perfection is a trap, and it’s stealing our joy. I started to enjoy motherhood more when I lowered the bar and stopped measuring myself against unrealistic expectations. Instead of striving to do everything, I asked myself a simple question each day: What actually matters today? Some days, that meant making space for play and connection. Other days, it was just making sure everyone was fed and loved. And that was enough.
Then one day, it hit me—my sole purpose is not to check every box on a to-do list. My purpose is to make my child’s childhood magical. Not in an over-the-top, Pinterest-perfect way, but in the little moments that matter most. The way we dance in the kitchen while waiting for dinner, the way we build forts out of blankets and pillows, the way we whisper silly bedtime stories and chase fireflies in the backyard. The kind of magic that lives in the simplest, most ordinary days—the kind we don’t realize is special until we look back and wish we could relive it all over again.
I also realized how often I was trying to do everything at once—folding laundry while answering a text, while keeping an eye on my toddler, while mentally planning dinner. It was exhausting, and I never felt like I was fully there. The moments I enjoy most now are the ones when I stop trying to multi-task life and just be. Watching my little one stack blocks, soaking in a cuddle after bath time, actually tasting my coffee instead of drinking it cold—those tiny moments make all the difference.
There’s this unspoken pressure to be productive all the time, but motherhood itself is productive—even if it doesn’t look like it. We might not check everything off our to-do lists, but we wipe tears, give hugs, make meals, listen, comfort, and show up in a million little ways. That’s the kind of work that actually matters.
Enjoying motherhood more doesn’t mean we need to overhaul our lives. It’s about finding joy in the small things—playing music while making breakfast, stepping outside for fresh air, sipping coffee from our favorite mug without reheating it five times. These are the moments that create a childhood filled with love and laughter.
Some days will feel magical. Others will feel like pure survival mode. And that’s okay. The beauty of motherhood isn’t in getting everything right—it’s in the love, the presence, the messy, imperfect moments we share with our children. We are already the moms our kids need, just as we are. And when we let go of the pressure to be perfect, we create space for the kind of magic that truly matters—the kind our children will carry in their hearts forever.