I was at the grocery, waiting in line at the cashier, when I noticed the young woman in front of me. She had a small and fashionable bag, and it only took her two seconds (two seconds!!!) to find and get her wallet. What. On. Earth. Either she was a superwoman or didn’t have any kids–I couldn’t think of any other explanation. I looked from her bag to my big, black dumpster of a bag that I call a black hole, and I couldn’t help but notice the differences. So, dear mammas, I come before you to analyze the evolution of your bag from before you were a mom until now.

You remember those times when we could not go out of the house without makeup? (Oh, good times.) Now, we’ve only got space for a single chapstick–and it’s really more for function than beauty. Now isn’t that the story of our lives?

From pristine planners with cool designs, to an old battered notebook with dozens of pages missing. But hey, what can you do? It’s the price of chaos.

There was always a power bank in our bags just in case our phones died. But now, thinking ahead doesn’t mean power banks anymore. It means packing baby wipes, scissors, nail clippers, feminine products, safety pins, bobby pins, and a tape measure. You never know when you’ll need them, right?

Ear phones were pretty much a staple in our bags back then. Pop them out, and we could relax and listen to some tunes. But now? Ain’t nobody got time for that! Relax? Here’s what relaxing means: packing toys and books in our bags to distract our kids and keep them busy.

Gum and mints have got nothing on the snacks that we pack now! Hello, sandwiches, crackers, cookies, chocolates, granola bars, and candy. While we admit the snacks aren’t exactly the freshest (those chocolate bars have been in our bags for how long again?), it’s still food, right?

Protection from the sun? Pssh. We have bigger problems to deal with–like protecting our kids. Band aids and medicines are an absolute staple.

Smelling sweet is the least of our problems! Battling the heat and the cold are more important. Enter fan and scarf or sweater.

Still, there are some staples that haven’t (really) changed…

My biggest takeaway from this ‘analysis’? Our bags reflect who we are and who we take care of. Before we were moms, our bags basically said that we were taking care of ourselves (hello, makeup!), and now that we are moms, our black holes of darkness (a.k.a. our bags) represent our care for our kids. So even though our bags may be chaotic messes, we know it’s all for our kids!