If motherhood were a job listing, nobody in their right mind would apply. “Lifelong position. No pay. No benefits. No sick days. No breaks. Must be available 24/7. High-stress environment. Emotional manipulation guaranteed. Zero training provided. No possibility of resignation.”

You’d laugh. You’d swipe left. You’d report it as a scam. And yet, here we are, signing up blindly, thrown into the deep end, expected to love it unconditionally.

But what if you didn’t?

What if, deep down, you sometimes wished you could walk the hell away?

I know. You’re not supposed to say that out loud. The good moms don’t. The grateful moms don’t. The ones who “soak it all in” and cherish “every moment” definitely don’t. But let’s be real, those moms are either lying or on really good medication.

Because there are days when the weight of it all feels unbearable. When you are so goddamn tired of being needed every second of the day. When the constant demands, the noise, the never-ending mental checklist make you feel like you’re drowning. When the idea of just leaving, for a night, for a week, for good, crosses your mind in a way that feels a little too real.

Would you quit if you could?

Picture it: You type up your resignation letter.

“Dear Children, it’s been an honor serving as your personal chef, maid, therapist, chauffeur, and general emotional punching bag. However, due to irreconcilable exhaustion, I will be stepping down effective immediately. Please direct all future snack requests to literally anyone else.”

You pack a bag, shut the door behind you, and just… leave. No guilt. No second thoughts. Just silence.

But of course, that’s not real life. There’s no off switch. No exit door. No clean break. Because motherhood is a contract written in blood, sweat, and stretch marks. You don’t get to quit. You don’t even get a damn lunch break.

So Why Do We Stay?

Because despite all the soul-crushing, thankless, mind-numbing parts of this job, there are the moments that make you stay.

Like when their little hands find yours. When they crawl into your lap, even when they’re way too big, just because youare the safest place in the world. When they look at you with those big, stupid, innocent eyes and say, “You’re the best mommy ever.”

We stay because even in the hardest, loneliest, most brutal moments, we love them more than we hate the exhaustion.

But here’s the thing, just because we stay doesn’t mean we should have to do it like this.

Motherhood wasn’t meant to be this lonely. This depleting. This all-consuming. Somewhere along the way, we were sold this lie that “good moms” do it all and never complain. That asking for help is weakness. That needing space is selfish.

But the truth? The only way to survive this job is to start demanding better working conditions.

We need partners who step the hell up. We need society to stop treating moms like unpaid labor. We need to stop feeling guilty for wanting a damn break. Because motherhood shouldn’t be something we have to survive.

So maybe the question isn’t, “Would you quit if you could?” but rather, “How do we make this job one we don’t want to quit?”

Because let’s be honest, we’re in this for life. But that doesn’t mean we have to lose ourselves in the process.