A working mum who was doubting her ability juggle work and parenthood had her mind put at rest when she found adorable notes from her daughter.
Aimee Nelson, from the US, shared on the Love What Matters Facebook page that she often has a familiar feeling of “mum guilt” regarding her long days of work and her kids’ busy school schedules.
Nelson said she questions whether she has spent enough quality time with her children, or whether she lets them watch TV for too long.
“The self-doubt is continuous,” she wrote on 8 November. “No matter how many hugs, kisses, or ‘I love yous’ we get from our children; we mums still worry that we aren’t doing enough.”
But when she found a series of notes left by her eight-year-old daughter, she realised she must be doing something right.
Nelson said on one busy morning when she was getting ready to leave for work, she went to grab her ID and keys and realised they weren’t in their usual spot.
“As I frantically searched for them, I came across this sight,” she wrote, alongside the photo of her daughter’s notes.
“My eight-year-old daughter had made these notes for me before bed. She left my ID and sunglasses, and a note for everything else - ‘Ready to drive?’; ‘You can pick which rings you want’; ‘I thought you might want these’; ‘Want your lunch?’.
“I found a bag in the refrigerator with water, soup and oatmeal for me; along with a note saying: ‘I gave you the keys to my heart’.
“She may not know it now, but those notes scribbled in crayon were just what I needed that day. They showed me that maybe - just maybe - I’m doing something right.”
The post received nearly 6,000 likes within just two days and the mum received words of encouragement from other parents in the comments.
“You are doing well mum,” one person wrote. “The fact that you question how you’re doing means you’re doing well! Because clearly you love them and you do your best for them and that’s all any of us can do.
“We all doubt ourselves and question ourselves despite what many would have us believe. Keep doing what you’re doing. You are rocking it.”
Another wrote: ”I’m a stay-at-home mum with the same self-doubt. We do what we can as we can. Everyone is different. Love yourself mama and forgive yourself. We’re all just trying to survive.”