Being a mother is often called the most rewarding job on the planet, and it is, but it is also the toughest in every sense of the word. Gone are the days of blow outs, manicures, happy hours and lazy weekends on the couch. They are instead replaced with midnight feedings, temper tantrums, play dates, and a constant stream of snot and saliva. You’re lucky if you can find clean clothes and a toothbrush. Motherhood is a lot of things, but glamorous certainly isn’t one of them.

When our childless friends are enjoying long conversation over wine, we’re just hoping to get a 5 minute shower and a bite of a half-eaten grilled cheese. Grownup chats seem a distant memory, replaced with a constant stream of “MOOOOOOOM!” And don’t let Facebook fool you—every mother is experiencing the trauma of stepping on a Lego barefoot while trying to tiptoe out of a baby’s room that took 3.5 hours to get to sleep.

The epitome of being a mom is selflessness, often sacrificing more than we should in order to ensure our children become the best versions of themselves. As you can probably imagine, this can wear out the best of us, even going so far as to negatively impact our relationships with our families. But it doesn’t have to be this way.

There are aspects of motherhood that will always be: dirty diapers, ear infections at 2am, screaming toddlers in the grocery store, and defiant teenagers. However, we can mitigate this by lifting each other up instead of judging, empowering instead of bullying. Who cares if a child is wearing his/her Halloween costume at the playground in June or a mother dares to serve spaghetti-o’s for lunch? There are worse things.

We are all in this together, and can do so much good in this world when we choose positivity. Moms need love and affirmation just like our children do, and there’s no one better to offer this than other moms. What kind of impact could we have if we took a minute just once a week to compliment another mother, or smiled instead of looking away?

Mothers are superheroes—no one will argue that. But even superheroes can get overwhelmed at times and it’s up to the mom community to spread love and understanding among each other. Maria Shireen is dedicated to supporting and inspiring mothers worldwide, and believes that together moms are unstoppable. #loveanothermother