Mum's candid Facebook post strikes a chord with parents everywhere

Being a mum is hard. No one’s denying that. It’s a fact that Aly Brothers, a single mum of two young boys, knows all too well.

She shared an extremely honest post on Facebook after a disastrous shopping trip with her children.

Posting a tearful selfie, Aly detailed how what should have been a straightforward supermarket visit left her crying at the checkout. “This is motherhood. No fancy filters, no good lighting, no new lipstick. It’s messy hair that’s wet from the rain, yesterday’s make-up that I was too tired to wash off, and tears,” the post began.

After explaining how her two toddlers “were not so angelic” in the supermarket aisles, Aly commented on the (somewhat disappointing) reactions of the other shoppers: “Everyone’s eyes were on me as if to say “can’t you control your own children?” They don’t know me. They don’t know me as a mother. They don’t know my children. They don’t know I was married before I started a family. They don’t know I left that marriage because of abuse knowing I would have it just as hard as a single mother.”

“If you see a parent struggling, if you see a kid throwing a tantrum, if you see a mom on the verge of tears… please say something nice. Please don’t glare with judgement. And to all moms out there having a day like mine… I see you, I know you, I love you. You are strong and you are doing just fine.”

Aly’s emotional declaration quickly went viral and has now received over 6000 comments. Other mums admitted to feeling better after reading it and realising they weren’t alone.

It takes a lot of courage to admit to feeling like a failure. But sometimes, one brave outpour can help thousands of others dealing with exactly the same thing.

And that sense of community can be vital to a struggling mother.

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