Okay. Let’s take a minute to get real. Or, even more real. Because if you’ve been keeping up with us for a while, then you should know we tend to keep it very, very real around here.
There’s a chance you read this blog and you agree with it 100%. There’s a chance you read it and have no idea what we’re talking about. There’s even a chance you read it and feel personally attacked. May I be so bold to say if you read it and feel attacked, maybe you should take a look within and figure out why?
Perhaps that was a little harsh, but there is just no way we can’t address this. It’s starting to really irritate us now. This one might ruffle some feathers but…
Here we go.
Since when did mothering become synonymous with alcoholism? That sounds strong, we know. But do you realize that’s how it reads?
We know people think it’s funny-all these memes- “Coffee until Wine” “How do I survive Momming? VINO!!” “It’s 5 o’clock somewhere!”
At first, we would see these meme-like posts circulating around the internet and chuckle, not giving it a second thought. But the more time that we spend on social media, the more we see this common theme. In captions, in pictures, in Tik Tok or reel videos…
It has become glaringly apparent that in order to be a mom in today’s online society, you must also make jokes about having an alcohol problem.
But excuse us if we don’t think it’s all that funny.
The way it presents is you need alcohol to survive raising the children you decided to bring into this world.
Go ahead and read that again. Let it sink in.
Raising little ones is a prayer and/or wish so many people whisper into God’s ears and the universe. We know how lucky we are to be the stewards of these little spirits. We have experienced the flip side of wanting it so badly and having it ripped from our bodies without our permission. Have you paused to consider how ungrateful it makes you appear, when you paint a portrait that says, “I can’t wait to drink at the end of the day! It’s what gets me through this whole parenting gig!”?
Now, don’t get us wrong. We’re no prudes. And we definitely enjoy a glass of wine or even a bottle when the mood strikes and we are in good company.
Do we have bad parenting days? Absolutely. Do we occasionally let loose and drink a little more than we probably should have? Yep. Do we even have days where we look forward to an adult beverage at the end of it? You bet we do.
But it absolutely isn’t the crucifix that gets us from one day of parenting to another.
We have really come to loathe this mom-culture that presents us all as these weathered, exhausted alcoholics that are limping through parenthood one glass of wine at a time.
At the end of every hard day, we don’t immediately turn to alcohol as a crutch. At the end of every good day, we don’t immediately turn to alcohol as a form of celebration. And we sure as shit don’t glamorize what is a real problem on social media for others to take as a right of passage for being a parent.
If you find yourself needing to turn to a bottle at the end of every day, you may very well have a problem. Feel called out? Maybe you should.
It’s not funny. And it’s certainly not cute.
So, can we stop with the bullshit? Can we quit playing into and glamorizing this alcoholic-mom culture that seems to be the new norm?
Enough, already.