May is the Christmas of spring: it’s a beautiful time of year, filled with flowers and fun and new life, but if you’re a parent, you also know May is . . . *a lot.* All the recitals. All the field days. All the ball games and practices, all the projects before  school’s out. And while you try to navigate all the end-of-school-year fun/chaos, let Emily and her guest, author and podcaster Sally Clarkson, remind you: You’re doing great, Mama—you really are. Sally is someone Emily turns to time and again for parenting advice, as Sally’s raised four exceptional young humans. And today, Sally shares stories from her own days in the May trenches, and gives us a gentle pep rally to remind us that great mamas aren’t the ones who have the perfect snack bags for field day, or have the summer schedule already filled to the brim with edutainment. Great mamas are the ones who not only provide for their kids, but also remember that in order to care for someone else well, we have to care for *ourselves* well, too.   Thank you to our episode sponsors! ARMOIRE |Never be without the perfect outfit again! Get up to 50% off your first month, plus 2 free bonus items with code SIMPLIFIED at https://armoire.style    BETTERHELP | Affordable, private online therapy — anytime, anywhere. Get 10% off your first month at https://betterhelp.com/simplified   TRUEBILL | Don’t pay for what you don’t need. Start canceling subscriptions now at https://truebill.com/simplified  * * * GET AD-FREE LISTENING + EARLY ACCESS TO NEW EPISODES https://apple.co/3ICMUmk  * * * SHOW NOTES emilyley.com/podcast * * * PRE-ORDER EMILY’S KIDS BOOK! You’re Always Enough: And More Than I Hoped For * * * SUBSCRIBE Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeartRadio | YouTube * * * LET’S BE FRIENDS! Simplified: Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest Emily Ley: Instagram | Facebook