For the past few days, I have been battling an awful headache. I’m not typically one to suffer from headaches or migraines, but boy do I now have empathy for those who do.

It started Wednesday when I felt a nagging pain. But by that night, it was all I could do to even walk from the couch to my bed, hoping a good night’s sleep would make me feel better. Well, I was wrong. I tossed and turned all night and finally got up around 6 a.m. to let my husband know there was no way I’d be able to drive our daughter to school.

I had tried to hide my pain from Aubrey, letting her know my head was hurting but trying not to let her in on the extent of how sick I was feeling. But on Thursday morning, I just broke down and started to cry.

I’m not really a bigger crier. In fact, when my hubby and I were dating, he would always joke that he didn’t even think I’d cry on our wedding day. So I know Aubrey had never seen Mommy cry before. And I had never wanted her to. I think as parents, we want to be superheroes to our kids, never letting them see us when we are hurt or sick or having a bad day.

When my daughter heard me in tears on the couch, she left her cereal at the table and ran over to me.  She wrapped her tiny arms around me, rubbed my back and told me she loved me. And if you are a parent, I don’t even have to tell you how good that felt.

The whole event made me realize that it’s foolish of me to try to always put on a happy face and shield my daughter from how I’m truly feeling. I want Aubrey to know it’s OK for people to feel upset or even to cry. And that it’s good to talk about your feelings, not hide them.

The rest of the day, Aubrey did all she could to help take care of me. She kept her voice down, asked me how I was doing and offered to get me anything I needed. And she learned that even mommies can have a bad day.

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