Don't Believe Him

by Monica Arya

While it takes a village to raise a child, most of the time there is no village. No one shows up when you’re deliriously exhausted, no one shows up to give you a break, no one holds your hand as you second-guess what you’re doing and how you’re raising your children.

As mothers, we don’t realize we are drowning while trying to be everyone else’s anchor.

And no one cared. Because I was filling everyone else’s cups, and when everyone else was hydrated and happy, they didn’t care that I was withering away. You’re just a stay-at-home mom, after all.

“If you see people by their actions, then you’ll never be fooled by their words.”

My entire world and life as I knew it was on fire, and the scariest part of it all was that I knew the one holding the match. It was the man I loved.

My mother once told me when I was younger that there’s two types of men; good men and men who pretend they are good. The scary part is, you take a gamble and never know which one you’ve got until you’re too far deep in with them.

“I wouldn’t react; I’d play it cool and find out every single thing I needed to. You can’t pull the trigger with an empty gun.”

Because as mothers, even if our oxygen is depleting, we will do whatever it takes to make sure our child is breathing easy.