We've all had days when our to-do list seems not only insurmountable, but suffocating—when the pressures of day-to-day life (getting to work, getting our kids where they need to be, cleaning the house, etc.) feel like they're too much to bear. Usually in these times, we suffer in silence, but a Colorado woman named Kimberly Adams is encouraging people to lean on their friends and ask for help instead of keeping it all to themselves. In a now-viral Facebook post, she's showing the world what the true meaning of friendship is.
In mid-October, Adams put up a post on the Northern Colorado Moms Blog Facebook page about how she was going through a difficult time and was trying to manage on her own. "As mamas we feel like we’ve always gotta put on our big girl pants and just muscle through," she wrote. "Never let ‘em see you sweat, right?"
But, on one particular day, she was finding it impossible to do that. She called up a friend, thinking that all she needed to do was "cry about what was happening." Then her friend asked her a very important question, the one that we should all ask when someone we love is struggling. "She asked me to just say what I needed and wanted most," Adams wrote. "I told her that I didn’t want to be alone."
How did her friend respond? She said, "I'm on my way."
Adams tried to talk her out of making the long drive between their two distant Colorado towns. She told her the "house was a disaster" and that she didn't want to be a "burden." But her friend didn't care about any of that. All she cared about was being there for Adams when she didn't want to be by herself.
She picked up another friend along the way to Adams' house and, once they arrived, they gave her the "the biggest hugs" and asked the second question we should all ask when someone we love is struggling: "What can we do?”
"My disaster of a house? They helped me clean it, and assured me it wasn’t that bad," she wrote. "They let me cry, they made me laugh, we listened to music, and most importantly...I. Wasn’t. Alone."
Adams encouraged people to show up for a friend who they know is having a tough time, even if that person is too uncomfortable to ask. "Just tell her you’re coming," she wrote. "Because I guarantee she wants that more than anything, and she’s having a hard time being able to say it."
And she ended the touching post by urging other moms to realize that they don't have to suffer in silence and solitude, which applies not just to mothers, but to everyone.
"You don’t even have to know what you need—just start by asking to not be alone," she wrote. "I know there is someone in your life who will say to you 'I’m on my way,' if only you’d ask."
The beautiful tribute to friendship quickly went viral, gaining more than 114,000 shares since it was posted on Oct. 17.
"I cannot even begin to tell you how much I love this and how relatable it is to my life right now," one Facebook user wrote. "You put into words what I have not been able to myself and for that I thank you."
The responses were so overwhelming that Adams—who did not reveal her identity in the original post—put up a follow-up post with pictures of herself and her #onthewayfriends, including the two who helped her that fateful day: Samantha Franzen and Emilie Casseday.
She revealed that she met most of them through the Northern Colorado Moms Blog and that, while she's only known them for just over a year, they are "the ones getting me through, and often times carrying me down this rough road."
She also had some practical advice for anyone who might be feeling alone and who doesn't know who to turn to.
"Check out your local City Mom Collective page! If your city doesn’t have one, do what I did and look into bringing one to your community! If that’s not an option, search local Facebook event happenings and choose one to go to," Adams wrote. "Get plugged into community. Whether a moms group, bible study, recreational sports league, or anything of the like...community is happening all around you."
And whatever you do don't be afraid to ask for help. It might be hard at first, but, once you get the words out, you'll be surprised to find how many people are eager to be there for you.
And for another inspiring post about thriving instead of just surviving, check out: Mom's Viral Facebook Post Reveals the Struggles of Postpartum Anxiety.
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