“Five months ago, mom and writer Cameron Reeves Poynter shared a heartfelt essay on Facebook about the invisible work she does for her family.

“I am the keeper. I am the keeper of schedules. Of practices, games, and lessons. Of projects, parties, and dinners. Of appointments and homework assignments,” she wrote, before diving into a laundry list of chores and responsibilities she takes on for her husband and two sons.

“I am the keeper of emotional security,” wrote the mom, who is based in the Norfolk, Virginia, area. “The repository of comfort, the navigator of bad moods, the holder of secrets and the soother of fears.”

Most of the time, the load is manageable for the former attorney, but other times, it’s too much to bear.

“Sometimes the weight of the things I keep pulls me down below the surface until I am kicking and struggling to break the surface and gasp for breath,” she wrote, before admitting that sometimes, ‘being the keeper is exhausting. Because you feel like you’re doing it alone.’”