Why I Hate Being Called Supermom

For the record, I am a walking mess. I’m constantly tired. My house is never clean enough. My kids are always complaining they are bored and my to-do list is never checked off.

I had to get that out of the way so you don’t hate me when I tell you that other moms constantly ask me if I’m “supermom”.

I usually have to look around and make sure they aren’t talking to someone else because if they really knew me, there’s no way they would be asking that question, because seriously, I am one, not as hot as I used to be, mess.

There are so many reasons why I hate being called supermom.

1. I can’t live up to that title. I could get all puffed up and proud that someone thinks I am supermom. But the first time my kid throws the mother of all fits in front of them I’m going to have to go home and cry. The supermom facade is just too hard to maintain.

2. We can’t compare each other. Too often as moms we are tempted to compare our own worst with someone else’s best. No one wins with that. A few years ago I got very discouraged every time I went over to a friend’s perfectly decorated (and clean) home. I’d been in my house for almost 10 years and still hadn’t hung all my frames on the walls. Decorating is not one of my strengths. If I look at that to find my own worth, I’m never going to measure up and that’s not fair because I’m awesome in other ways.

3. I’m more than a mom. I don’t know why I always feel this way but every time someone calls me supermom I feel like they think that being a mom is all I can do. I want people to see me. I love being a mom but there’s a lot more to me than that . . . and honestly those are the things that make me a great mom.

4. Do I have spinach in my teeth? You know when someone compliments your eyes or something and suddenly you freak out wondering whether you have food between your teeth or mascara smeared under your eyes? Being called supermom is kind of like that for me. All of a sudden I feel like I’m being inspected and worse yet, judged. I realize that the comment is usually meant well but there are times when there’s an undertone to it and I feel like people are waiting for me to fail. If you look too closely at anyone, you are going to find something that isn’t so super.

5. Supermom is not your friend. My family and I have moved a lot in the last few years and the whole “supermom” thing is usually thrown out as I’m meeting people for the first time (after that I clearly can not keep up the act any longer). The problem is, starting over in a new area is lonely. I like to make friends quickly so I can feel settled into my new home. No one wants to be friends with supermom. Everyone is too afraid that if you invite her over she’ll give your home the white glove test. I’m more the kind of friend you can invite over after your kids have turned your family room into a giant field of tents because it will make me feel more at home.

So I promise you, I am not supermom. If it makes you feel better, my baby tried to flush a baseball down the toilet the other day and I just took my 5 year old grocery shopping in his pajamas.

Do you hate being called supermom? Please tell me I’m not the only one.