When My Child Says I’m “Always Sad”

We were folding laundry when my daughter looked up and said, “You’re always sad.” It wasn’t accusatory. Just observant. Honest. I froze. I wanted to explain trauma, dysregulation, and emotional exhaustion. But she’s a child. She just sees my face.

So I said, “Sometimes I am. But I’m also trying not to be.” And they nodded. Like that was enough.

Parenting while healing means being witnessed in your rawness. It means your children see the parts of you you’re still learning to hold. It’s terrifying. But it’s also honest.

I used to think I had to shield them from everything. But now I believe in showing them what repair looks like. Not just rupture. Not just sadness. But the trying. The coming back. The naming. The soft apology.

Maybe that honesty is part of what heals us both.