I Regret to Inform You I Only Have Two Hands

Subscribe so you don’t miss an episode:Apple | Spotify | GetMomReady.comYou know that moment when everyone needs something from you at the exact same time and your entire family is looking at you like you were born with eight arms?Emily Busby knows that feeling well.One Memorial Day, she was in the kitchen trying to get food ready while her kids were barking orders from every direction. Her husband walked in from grilling and said, “Mommy has two hands. Give her a second. She’s not an octopus.”And then they realized…wait. That’s a book.Mommy’s Not an OctopusEmily is the author of Mommy’s Not an Octopus, a children’s book that started as a joke but became something much deeper.It’s funny for kids, but it’s also a love letter to moms.Because somewhere along the way, a lot of us absorbed the idea that good moms just figure it out. We keep going. We carry the mental load. We anticipate everyone’s needs. We become the snack coordinator, schedule keeper, emotional support animal, laundry manager, and household search engine.And then we wonder why we’re exhausted.Emily, a former college athlete, talked about how much of her identity was built around pushing harder, doing more, and figuring it out. But motherhood did not respond to that strategy the way sports did.In motherhood, pushing harder can quickly turn into burnout.Glass Balls and Plastic BallsOne of our favorite parts of this conversation was Emily sharing something her therapist-led coach taught her: everything you’re carrying is either a glass ball or a plastic ball.Some things will break if you drop them.Some things will bounce.For Emily, laundry used to feel like a glass ball. It had to be washed, folded, and put away right away. Then baby number two came along, and she realized some things could wait.We all have glass and plastic balls in life. The question becomes, which balls can drop without breaking in this season.The Octopus MomentEmily’s book has also given her family shared language.Instead of snapping, “Can’t you see my hands are full?” she can say, “I’m having an octopus moment.”SO. GOOD!It gives kids a way to understand: Mom is overwhelmed. Mom needs patience. Mom needs help. Mom cannot do eight things at once.Side bonus: it teaches our kids a way to understand and explain their own overwhelm in a way that fully makes sense to them.Support Is Not the Same as DelegationWe also talked about the difference between support and delegation.Because “just ask for help” sounds great until asking for help becomes another job.If you have to explain what needs to be done, manage the timing, answer twelve questions, and make everyone feel appreciated afterward, that is not always support. Every mom can feel this.Real support might look like someone folding the laundry, washing bottles, dropping off breakfast, holding the baby, chopping the fruit, or taking meal planning completely off your plate without asking you 47 follow-up questions.The hard part, of course, is that every mom needs something different.Some of us want the baby held, some of us want the dishes done, some of us want company, some of us want everyone to leave lovingly and immediately.And half the battle is figuring out what would actually help, then finding the words to say it.We Also Talked About...* How Emily’s postpartum anxiety and depression showed up differently than she expected, especially as someone used to pushing through hard things.* Why high-achieving moms can confuse “I can handle this” with “I should handle this alone.”* The way motherhood forces us to loosen our grip on the version of balance we thought we were supposed to have.* How support can change depending on the season. Sometimes it’s a break. Sometimes it’s someone taking one entire category off your plate.* Why it can feel so awkward to tell people what would actually help, even when they genuinely want to help.* And, of course, why a postpartum fridge magnet that says “here are things you can do without asking me 900 questions” may need to become official Get Mom Ready merch immediately.Why This Episode MattersThis conversation is about the mental load of motherhood, the pressure to do it all, and the tiny ways we can start telling the truth about our limits.If you have been trying to be everything for everyone, this episode is your reminder:Mommy is not an octopus.Mommy is a