Christy Carlson Romano's Blog: The Real Reasons Moms Should Be Celebrated on Mother's Day
Please welcome back celebrity blogger Christy Carlson Romano!
The actress is best known for her early-2000s Disney Channel work, including her turn as type-A older sibling Ren Stevens on Even Stevens, and for voicing the titular character in the animated series Kim Possible (which is currently getting the live-action treatment!). In 2004, she starred on Broadway as Belle in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast.
Romano, 34, married writer-producer Brendan Rooney in a romantic winter-wonderland wedding set against the backdrop of the Fairmont Banff Springs in Alberta, Canada, on New Year’s Eve 2013. The couple welcomed their first child, daughter Isabella “Izzy” Victoria, on Christmas Eve 2016.
Romano directed and starred in 2016’s Christmas All Over Again, which Rooney co-wrote. She also directed a 2017 video spot (starring Rooney and Izzy!) for Ju-Ju-Be’s new XY Collection — a line of diaper bags geared toward stylish dads — and will return to the Disney realm this summer, lending her voice to the role of Trina in Big Hero 6: The Series, set to premiere June 9.
You can find her on Instagram and Twitter @ChristyRomano, as well as her website christycarlsonromano.com.
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Mother’s Day is coming up on Sunday and I, for one, am milking it for all it’s worth. How do we, as a society, justify having a Mother’s day when ideally we really need about a week just to catch up on sleep and The Bachelor reruns?
I have come to understand, even as a person who wears a lot of hats when it comes to my career, that being a mom is all about balance. You want your household to foster creativity but not lack structure. You want a loving environment but not to be ruled by your little one.
There is a constant conversation in the minds of mothers that we often share with our girlfriends. We share memes. Oddly enough, sometimes it’s even easier to talk about this stuff with a friend who doesn’t have kids because you don’t run the risk of having someone compare your child-rearing skills.
More from Christy’s PEOPLE.com blog series:
Christy Carlson Romano’s Blog: Making the Memories Last with My Baby Girl
Christy Carlson Romano’s Blog: My Daughter Isabella’s Birth Story – and How I (Over) Packed for the Hospital
Christy Carlson Romano’s Blog: Putting the Final Touches on My Baby Girl’s Nursery
Christy Carlson Romano’s Blog: The Mirror & Me – Body Image In Your Second Trimester
While “mom wars” have subdued since previous years, we still can’t help but think of all the angles that we are not covering. And while I am admittedly a bit type A, I have found that this is across the board.
So for all you people wondering why you should make the effort to celebrate Mother’s Day, let me sum up what we go through.
Stress
The stress of providing for your child (be it in money or physical time) has us all stressing out, all the time. No, it doesn’t end when the baby goes to sleep, takes a nap or goes off to preschool. This isn’t the type of stress you can put pause on by taking a warm bubble bath. (I know, I’ve tried!)
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A lot of times, friends of new parents “drop off the face of the earth” when they have kids. This is why. You really don’t have the same perspective anymore once you are emotionally, physically and legally responsible for another person’s life. Your time becomes more valuable than it ever was before, even if you have to stay home to watch a little Elmo before bedtime.
Lack of Sleep
We all heard the warnings when we were pregnant. Those of you who don’t have kids have seen the movies, maybe even chuckled. Stop. And then come with me to Starbucks. I literally was allergic to caffeine before my beautiful Izzy.
Whether your baby sleeps through the night in their own crib or wakes up periodically while you co-sleep, you will never pass out after a night on the town again. And that’s okay! Because you wake up to this face:
Concern
Someone once told me, “Bigger kids, bigger problems.” All it takes is one bump on the head when you look away for you to feel like the worst parent ever (even if it’s just for a moment).
But the truth is, at all stages of your child’s life, you are genetically designed as a mother to never not care. I don’t care how ‘cool’ a mom you are — 99 percent of us would do anything for our babies, even if they’re grown. This new superhuman strength that we’ve been blessed with can really wear you out!
I am finding that balance is super important here so that I don’t burn out. In the end, your health as a grown adult is as important in role modeling to your child as the daily care you are giving them.
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For these reasons and countless others, moms deserve so much respect and love. Their job is never done and even after my baby has left the house in many years, I am certain I will be missing all these sleepless nights and morning snuggles.
If you would like to grab some flowers for your mom, I am teaming up with Pro Flowers to offer 25 percent off of my Mother’s Day picks. Just visit ProFlowers.com and enter CHRISTY25 at checkout!
