Libby Trickett has shared an emotional confession about the challenges of motherhood.
The seven-time Olympic medallist and mother of five posted a carousel of photos of her eight-week-old son Archie to Instagram.
In the caption, she wrote about all of the “excruciatingly fleeting” and challenging moments as a parent.
“The good and the bad (though the bad can sometimes feel like it’s going to last forever. It doesn’t, but it can certainly feel that way sometimes),” she wrote.
“I’m breathing through the hard bits and trying to absorb these moments into the depths of my soul and hoping it will be enough when the bad inevitably comes again.
“It’s. So. Excruciatingly. Fleeting. The good and the bad.”
What else has Libby Trickett said about motherhood?
It’s not the first time that she’s been candid about being a mum, often updating her followers about the ups and downs of parenting.
A day before, she posted a video to Instagram saying she had moments when she wished it was easier, but realised it was “not meant” to be.
“… we can resist that and try and push back and get angry, or feel sad, or bitter, or resentful about things and so and so has it easier, do the comparison thing and all of that makes what is even harder, and so I am trying really to sit with that this week and recognise that it’s not going to get easier, it is just what it is,” she said in the video.
In the caption, she elaborated and explained that she had “one of those days” where lots of little things piled up.
“We all have those moments, but I know for me, it’s so important not to stay in that resistance of what is. Because the more I wish it to be easier, the harder it actually feels,” she wrote.
“It’s always, always better if I just acknowledge that feeling, say (often out loud) ‘wow, I’m finding this hard’, and slowly move through it. Because life is hard. But we can do hard things, and we are the only ones who can do the hard things for ourselves.”
Living authentically
Shortly after Archie was born, the author wanted to remind her followers about “what real life looks like”, and that it was not as “curated” as what people depict online.
“I know I still fall into that trap sometimes as well. Life is messy. And it’s also magic,” she wrote.
“It’s saggy (like lemons in socks lol) and it’s soft. It’s bright and beautiful. It can be suffocating and exhausting. But all of it is real, and it’s only that entire tapestry of our experiences that is what makes life so interesting and special.
“Not that long ago, I would have looked at that first photo and only seen the ‘flaws’, which would have made me stuck. I would have been so stuck that I wouldn’t have seen the joy and the magic in the next moments, which ultimately means that I would have really missed out. Now, I see the beauty, joy, mess, chaos, and magic of all of it.”
In 2023, six weeks after her fourth child Alfie, was born, she wrote about how she cried because he was growing up fast.
“He’s really ‘waking up’, he’s smiling and getting stronger,” she wrote. “It’s beautiful and delicious and I’m loving every minute, but also sad that our squishy, newborn cuddles will soon be a thing of the past.”
She also speaks about motherhood and mental health in her book Beneath the Surface: A Memoir.
