The Cost of Free Toys!

A Window — a view of Motherhood in exactly 100 words

Jessica Archuleta
Nov 6 · 2 min read
Photo by Charlota Blunarova on Unsplash

A surprise
wrapped up
in a plastic sleeve.
“free” with a meal.

Four toys of
masks and disguises:

I want the detective!

You got the superhero mask!

I want the detective, too!

No, yours is the green one!

But, I wanted the detective!

Your a girl, yours is purple!

Mom, he said I’m a girl!

You are a girl.

Stop!

“Free” toys
cost my sanity,
until they finally
play happily.

Two days of bliss
scattered on my floors,
forgotten and ignored,
to be swept away,
like the tide of emotions
washed over my being
at the expense of “free” toys!

Windows Into Motherhood is a series written in poetry, fiction, non-fiction or possibly a mix of styles. Every “Window” will be exactly 100 words short. I’m writing this series because people often speak to me about motherhood. I’m a mama to 10 amazing human beings. My kids’ ages range from 3 to 22.

I often find it’s the outside pressures we women internalize that make motherhood harder than it needs to be and those outside voices can rob us of the joys of being mothers. I hope to discuss some of those things in this series along with doses of humor and real insight to daily life as a mom.

Emphatically Me

A collection of writings including stories on living life unapologetically, to the fullest, with intention & emphatically by Jessica Archuleta.

Jessica Archuleta

Written by

Gratefully writing about food, culture, relationships, education, poetry +more| Happy wife & mama to 10|Hispanic woman| Deeply spiritual & religious💗POM Poet💗

Emphatically Me

A collection of writings including stories on living life unapologetically, to the fullest, with intention & emphatically by Jessica Archuleta.

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