- After graduation from school to the age of twentylittle my life was a great time, full of freedom and all sorts of experiments. And with you was it not so? Then I had children. But I did not become another person. And my old life did not go anywhere. Yes, I have new duties. But why does someone think that I should immediately become a respectable, respectable member of society, and even someone (children) to teach this? I faced a dilemma: I was torn between the desire to live as before and the need to raise from my children " right "people. I was at the crossroads: I could get either a fucking mom or an ideal mother. As a result, I did not choose any of these options. I chose the third: I'm always close to my children, but I do not live for them.Photo:Getty Images My children see me burst into tears when I make a mistake, but they also see me holding my head up and looking at life with optimism. They see me dancing and laughing with my friends, and they see me holding their hands with the same friends when they are sad. They have heard me say a hundred times, “Unfortunately, we can’t afford it,” and at the same time they have seen me give my last 100 rubles to someone who needs it. They have seen me manage to perfectly combine work, sports, and housekeeping, and at the same time how often I give up on things I have started. Maybe I should have shown my weaknesses less, playing the role of an ideal mother? Years later, I don’t think so. When the children are old enough to set off on their own, my life will go on. And when my role as a supermom becomes unnecessary, I will still have my friends, my environment, my hobbies, my lifestyle. My life has all sorts of things – good and bad, it is striped, but it is definitely not focused on children, even if it sounds selfish. I make mistakes with them, I celebrate successes and joys with them, I show them that people can have weaknesses, and that is normal. But the most important thing is that life is given to us so that we live it not for someone else or instead of someone else, but for ourselves.