Being a mother is the dream of my life. When I was younger, people would ask me what I wanted to do when I was older. I told them I wanted to have children. I had my first child at 21, during my university studies. I couldn’t hold off. My children are my greatest success, and being a mother provides me with daily challenges and immense happiness. Being a mother is the most complex job I have done in my life. It involves thinking about the joy of my kids and their father, ensuring everyone has everything they need. The house has to be clean, the fridge full. The calendar has to be organised, the clothes bought and washed, daycare bags readied, the accounts paid. The work is hard but so gratifying.

When I finished my studies, I filled my free time with household tasks or activities with the kids. Finally, I could keep my house clean and spend more time with my family. I quickly realised that even if my house was clean and we were spending more time together (which made me very happy), I still had the feeling I was missing something to recharge my supermom batteries.

So I wondered what it would be like if I stopped being a mother for a few minutes during the day and became someone else…

I thought about what I wanted to do and realised that since I was a child, I wanted to be athletic. However, I never developed exceptional athlete skills. I nonetheless made the decision to take on the challenge, knowing I had a lot of work to do. My goal was to complete a triathlon (swimming, biking and running). 3 challenges for the price of 1! So almost every day, I took a few minutes to become an athlete. I was very much a beginner, but I thought I looked good in my triathlon gear, and I could already see myself crossing the finish line. I worked hard but was faced with many unknowns.

I quickly found that even if I worked hard, the challenge made me a better mother and spouse. It gave me the strength to complete all my daily mom tasks, and my skills improved day by day.

The day of the infamous race arrived, and I was nervous and stressed. It was destabilising. Additionally, I knew I had to let go and let dad take care of the little ones during the race (of course he’s able, he’s their father, but god, do I worry for no reason).

I kissed everyone and headed to the start line. A full 1 hour and 46 minutes of pure happiness and range of emotions. I was alone with myself, pushing my limits and having fun with a ton of athletes I didn’t know but who were experiencing the same adrenaline rush like me. On the course, I ran into the kids, my husband and family. They encouraged me, and it filled me with emotion. I let myself be someone else, a triathlete, and I felt in top shape, beautiful and a go-getter. And my family shared the same feeling of pride in what I was doing.

I encourage all supermoms to stop being a mom for a time. Become someone else – a dancer, artist, guitarist, swimmer, photographer – in short, what you dream you want to be. It feels so good, and I really think giving yourself time makes us a better mother every day. Take care of the woman and her dreams who is hiding behind this supermom. You so deserve it!

Anne-Sophie

The opinions found in this article are the author’s alone.