10 things about Motherhood on my mind.
10. I've not always done my best. Not surprising. No one ever always does their best. Sometimes, I have done average. Or less than average. In spite of that, my kids turned out ok.
9. Motherhood isn't the end all be all. Sometimes it's really tough. And even if you never become a mom, I think you can live a fulfilled life.
8. Having said 9, I know for sure I've become a better human because I have had the opportunity to be a mom to Monica and Andrew.
7. Sometimes I wonder what it would have been like to have had a 3rd or even a 4th child. I like to imagine what they might have looked like. And how Monica and Andrew might have related to them.
6. I am grateful that I didn't stop at just Monica. If I had, I may have become a preacher of dogma about how to raise children after just raising one child. But with Andrew, what I learned is that each child, no matter how similarly you try to raise them all, are different. Each child is wired differently. I am grateful that I didn't become that mom of that one child going around being unable to understand this important truth.
5. When my kids were little, I became frumpy. Hair, make up, clothes, body ... lots of neglect. And then after they started getting older, I thought to myself: "Why am I frumpy? I still have a life to live. I'm not just a mom. I'm a mom and so much more. I don't want to be frumpy." And so I took action. Just because someone's a mom doesn't mean they want to be invisible in terms of their womanhood.
4. When I think of my own mom, I know she hasn't always done her best. And I need to recognize that is because she is a human. Just like me. Sometimes, she's done average, other times, less than average, and occasionally, the best.
3. The thing that makes my heart happiest is when I see my two children show affection and protection for each other. It makes me believe that once I'm gone, they will be there for each other.
2. I hope that at the end of it all, my children and I will love each other as we remember the best we did for each other and forgive each other for all the ways in which we did less than best.
1. Because it all happens so fast. And without a manual.
Have a happy Mother's Day. If you want to. ;)
What a wonderful list!!
Couldn't agree more with #6!!! Our first son is just like us! Our second son - SO different! Who would have thought it was possible to have two different people from the same parents and raised in the same environment! and while he challenges us in ways we never expected, he has also taught us so much about other ways of thinking and acting. Our challenge has been to learn that they aren't "bad" ways, just different!
Posted by: Michelle | May 11, 2014 at 06:43 PM
Beautiful.
Posted by: JulieB/Julie Spahn | May 11, 2014 at 07:16 PM
Having chosen to be a stay-at-home mom, I've heard the gamut of responses after hearing "what I do" for a living. My favorite reply is that being a Mom is a job, and that just like everything else it takes hard work. Like many jobs, it is not always rewarding or fun; somedays it feels like the worst possible job in the world ... like digging ditches MUST be easier, right? And while it doesn't pay in money or goods, what you get back in those moments when your children shine, pays for every day they wiped something off themselves onto you or made you feel like the worst person on the planet.
You done good Hot Momma - I see the proof :)
Posted by: A Twitter User | May 12, 2014 at 11:09 AM