Ups & Downs of Motherhood

I have problems getting to sleep again lately, just after school re-opened in June. Although my body is physically tired, my mind is so active and wanders off to all the never ending house chores and daily activities whenever I lay to sleep at night. The more I want to rest my body, the more active my mind becomes. Is this a different kind of stress from work? Motherhood stress? Or stay-at-home mom kind of stress?

So, what's so fulfilling about motherhood and being a stay-at-home mom? I sometimes ask myself. There are no monetary rewards or financial satisfaction. Well at least you get paid for your stress in a job. But motherhood is almost a thankless job with few appreciations because it's what's expected of you. There's guaranteed to be lots of physical toil, mental stress and frustrations. There'll be more downs than ups, although sometimes the joy can overcome all others. 

And besides being a good mom, a good wife, a good housekeeper, you're also expected to be a good daughter-in-law. I realized the only difference between a daughter and daughter-in-law is the blood and layer of skin. What a daughter doesn't do, a daughter-in-law cannot not do. What a daughter does, a daughter-in-law cannot follow. And no matter how hard you try to bond, the closeness just isn't there. Your child suddenly becomes a stranger when their daughters have kids. I wonder if I'll be the same when my son and daughter have kids of their own some day.