Sometimes the frustrations of being a parent become so much, all there’s left to do is cry it out. Tess Holliday certainly knows how that feels.
On Monday, the mom and plus-size model posted a photo of herself crying on Instagram. In the caption, she shared an emotional message about the dark side of parenthood.
“This is the reality of being a mom,” she wrote. “I’ve been up since 3 am, & every time I get Bowie to sleep & try to lay him down, he wakes up. He is teething & has no clue I have to work today, & most days I can work 15 hour days, take care of both boys & put some lipstick on & deal with it.”
Holliday is mom to 8-month-old Bowie and 11-year-old Rylee. She’s very open about her parenting experiences on social media, particularly when it comes to breastfeeding and body image.
This crying selfie gets to the struggle to keep it all together in the midst of chaos and exhaustion.
“Most days I drink my coffee & smile at every little thing he does thinking it’s the best thing in the world, but not today,” she wrote. “I’ve reached my limit, exceeded it to be honest ... The pressure of ‘looking good’ for a living is too much today. When your face is breaking out from the hormones of breastfeeding + total exhaustion from lack of sleep, bags under your eyes, patchy red skin & to top it off no energy to work out or leave my bed.. how do you do it? How do you feel confident in your skin & feel like you aren’t letting the client down by showing up exhausted & disheveled?”
Holliday continued describing her experience as a mother raising a fussy baby while furthering her career in a looks-focused profession.
“As a working mom in an industry that’s as critical as mine, where is the line? The balance? The compassion?” she asked. “Is any career understanding when you show up at negative 10% because your kids wouldn’t let you sleep & you want to hide under your covers & cry?”
Answering her own question, she added, “Not many. I hope one day that changes & society views mothers as the flawed human beings we are that are just trying to keep our shit together like everyone else.”
Holliday’s post received over 73,000 likes, and the comments section is filled with encouraging messages from fellow parents who have been there.
As many commenters wrote, “You are not alone!”
