She’s the mother who struggles day in and day out trying to find a balance. Balancing her life, her children’s lives, her family’s lives. Balancing it all without losing a fundamental part of herself.

She’s the mother who has promised herself to make wholesome and nutritious meals for her family each and every day like her mother did before her. And she’s the mother who has ordered in pizza on a Friday night and let them eat in front of the t.v. because the kids are fighting, her patience is exhausted, she’s emotionally, mentally and physically drained, the house is a mess and sometimes peace is more important than chickpeas.

She’s the mother who tries to motivate her children with love and positive reinforcement, hugs and kisses, kind words and smiles. But she’s also the mother who has bribed her kids with a treat so that they can get through an outing without uttering the words “so help me god, if you do that again I will send you to your room for the rest of your life.”

She’s the mother who has read all the parenting books, tried all the theories and wakes up every morning muttering in her sleep-deprived, non-caffeinated voice “Today is the day I’m going to handle everything in a calm and composed fashion no matter what is thrown at me.” And by about mid-day, after three fights, seven meltdowns (hers not included) and talking back one too many times, she’s the mother who has lost her temper, yelled at her kids, dragged them to their room for a timeout and squeezed their arm in the process.

She’s the mother who goes to a party only to be ignored because “She’s just a mother. What can she possibly have to say? The simpleton.”

She’s the mother who felt guilty because she was working outside the home and missed spending time with her children. And now she’s the mother who quit her job to stay at home full time and feels guilty because she misses working.

She’s the mother who loves spending time with her children….playing, reading, talking. And she’s the mother who enjoys spending time without them and doing the things she did before she had children.

She’s the mother who loves her kids with her whole heart and soul and would lay down her life for them. But she’s also the mother who’s sometimes on the verge of killing those same children because they are driving her C.R.A.Z.Y with a capital "C".

She’s the mother who used to judge other mothers before she had kids of her own. And now she’s a mother, a mother who humbly apologizes to all those she judged because she had no idea, not one iota, about how hard it is to raise kids.

She’s not perfect. She’s the mother who is just trying to do the best she can each and every day. Balancing precariously on the tightrope of motherhood without a net.

She’s every mother.