Nope, I’m not a superhero, but I am a mother—and that’s a lot

However, back to my original complaint… I still wanted to be validated for it. I needed to be seen for both the implicit and explicit tasks and expectations in my day-to-day.

So I handed my list over to my husband , expecting him to be awakened to the fact I was indeed working in overdrive and for him to be grateful for all the ways that I take so many burdens off of him so that he can be successful in school and his career.

Instead of that, his response almost put me into a state of shock. He read over the list and then said, “I know. You are Superwoman.”

His words, like kryptonite, left me speechless. Part of me knew that his intent was for this to be a compliment, but it felt so invalidating. It completely missed the mark, and instead of leaving me feeling appreciated, I felt less understood.

Superheroes have innate superpowers that I imagine they use with ease. In fact, they are expected to use their powers and perhaps that is their sole purpose. No one ever looks to a superhero and asks, “Do you need a break?” And as a feminist, I sure as heck believe women are strong and powerful. But the idea of being labeled a “superwoman” did not feel empowering.

I already know I am efficient, capable, strong and fierce. But, I am also fatigued, sometimes overworked and underappreciated, and worst of all expected to be the one that keeps it together for everyone else.

What I learned about through my research of who Superwoman really is was this: her powers always wear off by the end of the story. Turns out these so-called “superpowers” really are temporary. That I can relate to.

I am only human and there are days and weeks where I feel on top of the world, days where I can manage it all with ease. I can be up all night nursing a baby, take both kids to school, and show up on time for a 9:00 am meeting with a French pastry I baked from scratch. I can push through the exhaustion and demands every day… until I can’t.

And it’s not just my spouse who uses this label. I have well-meaning girlfriends who have also tossed the term out there as if it was meant to be a feather in my cap.

When things get tough, I appreciate the texts of support my girlfriends send me. Even when they are far away, it’s nice to know someone cares when everyone in your house has the stomach flu while your partner is out of the country. It’s comforting to be able to share the ups and downs of trying to balance a career with a growing family.

But when the text comes in and says something like, “I don’t know how you do all that. You are a supermom!” I feel like there should be an auto-reply that says, “Connection lost.”

The thing is, I don’t want to be elevated to superhero status for living my life. It is not heroic and it’s probably not too far off from what every other devoted partner and mother provides their family. But, this is what I think we need, what we are starving for. We need someone to say, “How are you doing?” or, “What have you done lately to care for yourself ?” or, “Thank you for all that you do and who you are.”