09/08/2026
I Am Just a Woman
I am just a woman.
Not a machine.
Not a maid.
Not a pair of hands
created to keep everything together.
I am a human being.
I wake up tired
and still get up.
I clean what gets dirty again.
I cook meals that disappear in minutes.
I wash, fold, sweep, wipe,
organize and tend to the things
that make a house a home.
I do my best as a wife.
Not because I have nothing else to give,
but because I care.
And somewhere between
the laundry, the dishes,
the meals and the endless things
that need to be done,
I sometimes forget
that I need care, too.
There is a grief inside me
I don't always speak about.
A hidden grief
that lives quietly beneath ordinary days,
beneath the work,
beneath the smile,
beneath all the things I keep doing.
No one sees how heavy it can be
to carry something silently
while still making sure
everything else gets carried.
I have made mistakes.
I have fallen short.
I have had days when I couldn't do it all.
Days when my heart was heavy
and my strength was running thin.
But mistakes are part of being human.
And I wish being human
was something I was allowed to be
without having to apologize for it.
Because I have given grace
when I had very little left to give.
I have understood.
I have forgiven.
I have made room for imperfections.
But I, too, need grace.
I need mercy.
I need someone to understand
that doing my best
doesn't mean I never struggle.
It doesn't mean I never get tired.
It doesn't mean I never hurt.
It doesn't mean I will always get it right.
It means I am trying
while carrying things
you may never see.
So look past the clean house.
Past the meals.
Past the folded clothes
and everything I manage to keep moving.
There is a woman underneath all of it.
A woman with a heart.
A woman with scars.
A woman with hidden grief.
A woman who sometimes needs
to be cared for instead of needed.
I am not just a wife.
I am not just the person
who keeps the house running.
I am a woman.
I am a human being.
I make mistakes.
I get tired.
I hurt.
I carry grief quietly.
And after everything I give,
I shouldn't have to earn
the right to receive a little grace.
I need it, too.
-TheFrazzledHousewife-©
