I have to keep reminding myself that I am their mother. Sometimes we are sitting at home and I feel like we are waiting for our mom to come home.

Ruby Wax’s remark captures the disorienting, sometimes surreal quality of parenthood: even as an adult with children, she can momentarily feel like a child awaiting a more competent “real” grown-up. The humor depends on a sudden role-reversal—mother and children sitting together as if all three are still dependents—yet it also points to a serious truth about identity. Becoming a parent does not automatically erase earlier self-perceptions or insecurities; maturity can feel like a performance one must consciously inhabit. The quote resonates as a candid admission that caregiving involves continual self-reminding, not a permanent state of confidence.