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Some days…you just need one.

Some days…you just need a break.  Not a four hour break provided by the best babysitter on the planet, although that would be nice too, just a little break.

Some days…you need a Mommy Assistant.

The job of the Mommy Assistant might be simple, but it’s oh-so-important on those days that seem to drag on for a week.  You know the ones, right?  Where you start the day freshly showered and in your favorite dark wash jeans only to find yourself disheveled, with mascara smeared all over your eyelids, and somewhere along the way your denim morphed into vomit stained yoga pants two sizes too big by 4pm?  Are we on the same page?  Great.

These are the days when the Mommy Assistant can really thrive.

It’s not that she needs to take on all of the mundane tasks of motherhood each day, those are just part of the job, but a few key tasks would really make those week-long days just a few days shorter.

For example…

Kids with yucky colds who need extra cuddle time and just a lot little more attention?

That’s all Mommy.

But the husband who drags his feet around the house, moving at tortoise speed, while complaining that the kids got him sick?

Please hold for the Mommy Assistant.  I hear she makes great tea.

Or…

Painting rocks, sticks, and pine cones with happy, smiling, talkative kids in the garage while listening to some good music and enjoying fresh baked cookies?

Mommy is on it.

But mediating the constant sibling rivalry that flares up simply because it’s 6pm and the incessant whining for please just one minute on the iPad and WHEN is daddy coming home?

The Mommy Assistant will be with you shortly.

And maybe…

Soothing the kids through the stomach flu, holding their hair back, rocking them all night, and sleeping in minutes on their floors…Just. In. Case?

Mommy is there.  No question.  No complaints.  No help necessary.

But running load after load of vomit-covered towels while scrubbing vomit stained carpets and hard wood floors?

Mommy Assistant?  Are you there?

Perhaps even…

Cooking a healthy meal with the kids and watching them gobble it up as they exclaim, “Mommy, you make the best food ever” (actual quote)?

Mommy moment for sure.

But cooking the healthy meal only to be told that it’s “not too tasty”, “not what I wanted”, or “I changed my mind” (not actual quotes) the minute the plate hits the table?

The next available Mommy Assistant will help you file a formal complaint.

It’s not a full-time job, this Mommy Assistant gig.  It’s reserved for the worst weeks; the ones where sleep is fleeting, illness is in the air, and tantrums abound.

She works a flexible schedule, running from mommy to mommy.  Purely needs-based.

But when you send up that flare?  She’s there in a heartbeat.  She’s efficient, friendly, and responsible.  And if you’re really lucky?  She might even let you take a nap.

Because some days…you just need one.

Katie is a Child & Adolescent Psychotherapist/Parenting Expert in Los Angeles, CA.  She has a four year old daughter, three year old son, and a rock and roll husband who makes her life complete. Katie has a parenting advice blog, Practical Parenting, and can also be found on Twitter.