As a busy mom of three, Laura Mazza rarely gets a break. But last week, a wicked case of the stomach flu took her out of commission. For two full days, she was pretty much confined to her bed (with the exception of frequent trips to the bathroom), which meant that her kids only had one parent on duty: Their dad. But despite being what Mazza describes as a very "hands-on" dad, those two days spent as the primary caregiver made him see his wife through new eyes in a way neither was expecting.
In fact, those two to three days of solo parenting made Mazza's husband realize just how much she does on a daily basis that he doesn't see.
“I have always thought your job as a mom is important," his letter began. "I’ve never doubted how much you do. But I underestimated it."
(Talk about things moms everywhere are DYING to hear from their partners … )
But those aren't the only things her husband learned in those 48+ hours of being "Mom."
He learned what it's really like when their son Luca asks her to sleep with him — in short, that it isn't really "sleeping" at all. Unless you consider getting "kicked in the balls at least 18 times" to be a restful night of sleep.
"You are the most selfless person I know," he says, in awe. "How do you do that every night?"
He also learned that cooking for three picky eaters is a special kind of torture.
"I don’t think I’m a hopeless cook, but the kids got KFC and Macca's every night because it’s hard to watch them and make dinner," he confessed. "Ok I lied maybe I’m a hopeless cook. I do know that we literally went to nothing in the house and the fridge was empty." (Ha!)
And then there's the patience that's needed when you have an extra-clingy child -- something he didn't fully grasp until he was the go-to parent.
"I believed you when you said James was clingy," Mazza's husband wrote. "But that kid isn’t just like Velcro, he is super glue. I had to hold him and do things with one hand while Sofia turned into the devil and Luca didn’t listen to me."
It drove him a little nuts, he admits. OK, make that a LOT nuts.
"I did that wild scream you did," he confessed. "I know where it comes from now."
(Ah yes, the wild scream of overwhelmed mothers everywhere who are THISCLOSE to losing it … chances are, you know it well.)
In short, his time spent as Mom underscored just how bada-- that wife of his truly is. And he'll never, ever forget it.
"I was you for 48 hours and now I understand why you lock the door at night to have that shower," he continued. "I’m exhausted. You are a good mother my beautiful wife. Never doubt yourself."
Um, is that not the best letter a husband has written his wife … possibly ever? Sure, it's not Keats, but man oh man is it the millennial mom's version of a love sonnet.
Everyone loves hearing that they're appreciated; but a mom who is elbow deep in diapers and spit-up and clingy kids all day needs to know that the work she puts in matters and is valued. And better yet, that it's making her partner love her all the more for it.
This little truth was not lost on Mazza, who posted it on the popular Facebook page for her blog, Mum on the Run.
"See ladies?" she quipped. "All you need to do is get horrible gastro and then they’ll get it."
LOL. She may be kidding, but I'm willing to bet there are a lot of mamas out there who'd find some truth in that.
"Sometimes I think the romance is dead because we are too busy loving our kids," she continued, "but know they’re always thinking that they couldn’t do it without us."
(And let's hope they never forget it!)
