Each time I take a tablet, I feel as though I am a failure. A failure as a mother. But here’s the thing, do I think other mothers on these tablets are failures? Absolutely not. It’s as though I’m some sort of reverse hypocrite. That’s all I have to say tonight.
My Dearest Nicola,
Every time I give a tablet to my patients I think “This will help your pain to go away, this will help your biochemistry correct itself, this will kill the infection or the cancer or this will help you get better”. Never once, not a single time in the whole history of my career have I thought “This is because your body is failing because you are a failure”. I may have thought “you’re an idiot for riding a motorbike whilst high on weed, with no drivers license and intoxicated with alcohol”, but that’s not quite the same thing…
Your children are fed, your children are clothed. They are healthy, they are happy, they are loved. And anyone can see that. Every parent struggles. Some get different things wrong or right, but no one gets it 100% correct. The ones who pretend they have got it right are the ones who are seriously seriously messed up. Because you have neurotransmitters not quite lining up doesn’t have anything to do with your parenting skills. Or your personality. Or your life achievements. Or your value as a human being.
You are a wonderful, colourful, creative, unique, delightful, intelligent and special person who I am delighted to call my friend.
Now go and eat some chocolate!
Thank you so much Min, this is a beautiful comment – and just by the way, it’s the first ever comment on my blog, so thanks for that too! I’m damned lucky to have such great friends in the world. Xxxx
[…] it again when it didn’t work out. Sometimes I still find myself feeling those teeny tiny feelings of inadequacy about the fact that I need to take a tablet each day in order to function. I know that there is […]