Does the perfect woman really exist?

I’ve found myself struggling over the last few weeks since coming off of maternity leave.

Trying to juggle having a clean house with scheduling 3 social posts a day and making sure my kids have 3 healthy meals a day with a few healthy snacks in the mix.

I’d love to be that woman who has fresh lemon and cucumber water in a jug on the dining table every day. A house smelling of primly cut flowers. My kids hair would be freshly done and will never get to the point of over roughness, my dog will get two 20 minute walks a day everyday without fail and I will not only be able to get my 10k steps in everyday along with a 20 min pilates workout but I’d be able to meal prep for the week. Nutritious meals that use up the spinach and other vegetables in my fridge on time (instead of the spinach slowly wilting at the bottom of my fridge no matter how few packs I buy). Oh it doesn’t end there.

I’d do my laundry every single week, spread it and put it away as soon as it’s done instead of letting it pile up in a heap in the corner of my room for weeks on end. I’d change my bedsheets every week and I’d be confidently building my business without a care in the world that the last video I posted on TikTok got just 13 views. I’d wake up at 5am everyday and have an enviable morning routine which allows me to own my day instead of most of my days owning me.

I’ve given up on this dream.

For my own sanity, I’ve decided on simply conquering one thing at a time because I realise I just can not do it all. I am ever the optimist but life lately has humbled me. You can not have it all. Something has to give.

If I’m able to prep my kids clothes for the next day the night before then that is enough of a win for me. If I can get out of bed at 7am instead of lying in until 7.30am then having to rush to get everyone ready, that is a win for me. Something has to give. If something does not give, I will be the thing that breaks.

I’m not willing to allow myself to break simply for the sake of being the perfect mum, wife, woman that has it all together. Eff the lemon and cucumber water, I’ll have a sip of peace instead, in my living room that sometimes smells like stale baby poo.

The perfect woman does not exist and I refuse to believe that even the Nara Smith’s of this world have it all the way together.

Ladies, please let’s stop pretending we have it all together. Why do we do that? Who are we trying to impress? We need to be totally honest with each other because if more of us were open about where we’re really at, less of us will feel like we need to be that perfect woman.

The perfect woman does not exist.

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