Motherhood Doesn’t Come With a Manual — Especially Not This One

💥 You’re Still Showing Up — Even If You’re on the Couch

If you’re a mom living with MS (or anything that makes showing up feel like a full-body negotiation), let’s just say what no one says loud enough:

You’re still mothering. Even when you can’t move. Even when it feels like you’re not “doing enough.” Even when the dishes pile up and your body says no.

You are not a lesser version of a mom because your parenting doesn’t look like Instagram.

You are not failing because you had to say, “Not right now.”

You are not invisible because you sat this one out.

Maybe today you didn’t get up early. Maybe you’re not at brunch. Maybe you're the one holding all the pieces together with texts, reminders, and your last spoon of energy from bed.

Maybe you're the daughter who misses her mother. Maybe you’re the mother who’s grieving the version of yourself that could do more, be more, give more — before MS arrived.

But here’s the truth: love doesn’t require perfection. It just requires presence. And even when your presence looks like eye contact from the couch or a hand squeeze instead of a home-cooked meal, it matters.

You’re still showing up.

And that’s enough.

Actually, it’s everything.

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🧠 Mental Currents: Redefining What It Means to “Be There”

Let’s kill the myth right now: being there doesn’t mean doing everything.

For people living with MS, “being there” might mean:

Texting your kid instead of physically showing up to the game

Letting the screen babysit so you can nap

Teaching patience through your limitations

Modeling what it looks like to care for your body and ask for help

Parenting through chronic illness isn’t less-than. It’s just different.

You’re teaching your kids more than any Pinterest activity could:

You’re teaching them how to adapt.

How to show compassion.

How to stay soft in hard moments.

You’re teaching them that love doesn’t mean overextension. It means honesty, boundaries, and staying connected — even when it’s hard.

You’re not just surviving this life. You’re shaping someone else’s understanding of it.

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🔥 Hot Plate, Cold Nerves: Mother’s Day Mug Brownie

Because you deserve something warm, rich, and indulgent — that takes less effort than making toast.

What You’ll Need:

1/4 cup flour

1/4 cup sugar

2 tbsp cocoa powder

Pinch of salt

2 tbsp milk

2 tbsp oil

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Optional: chocolate chips, peanut butter, cinnamon, or just rage

Instructions:

1. Stir all the ingredients in a microwave-safe mug

2. Microwave for 60–90 seconds

3. Eat warm. Ideally in bed. With zero guilt.

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🗳️ Reader Poll: Tell Us Your Realest Act of Love

What’s something you’ve done — with no energy, no prep, no perfection — that still showed up as love?

Let someone else cook and didn’t apologize

Texted “I love you” and went back to bed

Listened without fixing

Snuggled through the pain

Other? Hit reply and brag a little

We want to feature your answers in an upcoming issue. Let’s normalize real care.

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💢 Mini Rant: Stop Telling Moms They’re Strong Just Because They Suffer Quietly

There’s a weird badge society hands out to moms who “do it all.”

But the real twisted part? Sometimes that badge comes after a breakdown.

“You’re so strong.”

“You never complain.”

“You always keep going.”

What they mean is: You’ve swallowed your pain well. You’ve kept it out of the way. You’ve suffered in silence and smiled anyway.

That’s not strength. That’s conditioning.

Strength is asking for help.

Strength is letting things go.

Strength is saying, I’m a mom, but I’m still a person — and this body has limits.

So if you said no to something today… good.

If you did the bare minimum… better.

If you celebrated yourself instead of meeting expectations… strongest of all.

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Sending love to...

The moms with MS

The daughters trying to hold it all together

The caretakers, chosen family, and the ones still grieving

The ones who don’t celebrate today but needed to hear this anyway

You’re seen.

You matter.

You’re not broken — you’re building something new.

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We’ll be back Tomorrow(Monday). Until then, celebrate yourself however you damn well want to.

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