You know it’s the weekend on Instagram when parents are eagerly sharing photos of the activities they’ve gotten up to with their kids.
Running around in the park, playing matches, going to birthday parties, hitting the shops, baking, visiting relatives… it can feel like the families on our social feeds cram a lot into their Saturdays and Sundays while all we want to do is sit in our PJs until lunchtime and keep everyone from fighting with one another.
One dad blogger has summed up how all parents really feel by Sunday evening in an Instagram post that looks a lot more like our weekend days than the perfectly-filtered ones we all feel under pressure to share.
Simon Hooper, also known as Father of Daughters, shared this snap of himself and his wife Clemmie looking wrecked after a busy weekend.
His caption is something we can all relate to.
“This weekend was like trying to fit the weekly shop into a single carrier bag that had the structural integrity of a biscuit that had been dunked one too many times,” he wrote.
“Cram too much in and it breaks, spilling it’s guts all over the pavement to onlookers to stare and mutter ‘ glad that wasnt me’ while you silent sob into a snotty rag you found in your pocket that that kids took a particularly large blown into earlier.
“Well we got to that point today – Sport clubs, sleepovers, the zoo, walks in the park / never ending goes on the swings, trips to 5 different shops to find slime ingredients, slime making, loft sorting, cleaning, planning parties, cooking – the list goes on – usually I’m the most positive person in the room but when you add in 2 very over tired older girls & twins who are everywhere at all times, you end up with broken parents. I’ve now developed an eye twitch so bad that women think I’m coming on to them through winking.
“Parenting is hard work, but we are own worst enemies some times when we try to do too much. We should give ourselves a break sometimes and remind ourselves we’re doing the best we can. Anyone else feel our pain? I’m so tired I could ……zzzzzzzz.”
We hear you, Simon. Does anyone else just count down the hours until Monday when things quieten down?
His post is a reminder that behind the cute snaps of kids running along a beach or halfway up a climbing frame is an exhausted mum or dad.