Whether you are the “mom” of your friend group or not, everyone always knows who it is. They are the one who is always the voice of reason, the one worried about everyone all the time, the one with the purse filled with snacks, and basically the person you go to when you have a problem. What not everyone realizes is the actual stress that being this interim mother figure can do to a teenager who should just be in charge of his/her own life. The struggles of always being the responsible one are actually real.

2. You always catch yourself yelling "be safe!" as your friends roll their eyes at you while they prance out the door.

3. When things go downhill, you are the one up until 4:00 a.m. fixing everything.

4. Somehow you are always the one getting phone calls into the wee hours of the night.

5. On the funnier side, you capture all of the crazy moments on camera.

6. Not even getting to be considered the “fun mom” because you are always “sucking the fun out of things."

7. Basically serving as the resident nurse when any medical issues arise

8. Occasionally having to pretend like you care, when in all honesty you don’t have time to deal with everyone’s problems at the moment.

9. You also serve as an in-house therapist when you can’t ignore everyone anymore.

10. When someone else cries, you sit there crying empathetically with them.

11. After the night has ended, you are suddenly the free for hire maid, cleaning up all the havoc your friends have wreaked.

12. At the end of the night, your room becomes the final pit stop.

13. Most of your friends actually do call you "mom", and you suddenly feel a million years old.

14. After all of your hard work, you are rarely thanked for all you do for your friends.

15. Above of all, you secretly love being the one everyone turns to when they need help.

Being the responsible, almost parental figure of all your friends can become taxing and difficult, but it is worth it to know all of your friends are safe both mentally and physically. If you haven't thanked the mom of your friend group lately, I suggest you let them know exactly how much they mean to you.