You look happier

 “You look happier”

Thanks. I decided to stop listening to all the noise.

The noise that told me I wasn’t doing enough.
The noise that said I should parent differently.
The noise that compared my body, my home, and my kids to everyone else’s.
The noise that made me question myself even when I was already giving it my all.

I don’t need to live up to everyone else’s expectations.
I don’t need to prove I’m a good mom to strangers.
I don’t need to shrink myself to make other people comfortable.

So I stopped listening.
And I started living.

Now I hear more of my kids’ laughter.
More of my own voice.
More of the peace I was always craving.

And that’s why I look happier
because I finally am.