In high school, I was a mega-mom friend. They actually called me "mama Emma" because I was THAT girl. However, I loved it. I love taking care of people and being the person that gets called when someone needs me. However, that gets exhausting. I realized that nobody was ever there to take care of me when I needed it, and that's no fun. In college, my anxiety took over and I wasn't able to be the mom friend.

Yes, I still love my friends dearly, but there's no way I could have taken care of them since I wasn't doing a great job of taking care of myself.

Now that I'm doing a lot better, my puppy is truly the reason that I'm not able to be the mom friend. She's basically a child, where she's brainwashed me into thinking that waking up at 7:30 is sleeping in. I'm also always late to places, no matter how much time I plan ahead.

Being the mom friend entails not being flaky, and with my puppy, there's no telling what I'll come home and experience. Sometimes, she gets sick out of thin air and suddenly I'm making rice for every meal so she can eat something. Honestly, life is unpredictable. In high school, I was a lot more stable and scheduled. Mixing college, a new job, and a puppy? Nope. My schedule and I are unstable.

But do you know what I realized? I kind of enjoy not being the mom friend anymore. I'm not as worried about everyone else, and I have peace of mind. Also, in college, the mom friend ends up being the DD when everyone goes out, and who likes to be around drunk people? Not me. I can focus all of my energy and mothering into my puppy, and I wouldn't have it any other way.