Ever since I was a little girl, and the option of being something other than a little girl was pressented to me in the form of the question "What do you want to be when you grow up?", I have wanted to be a mom. I really had no idea what all that involved, but I knew that my mom was happy, and busy, and that she made us good food and set out clean clothes for us and with all of the other possibilities seeming to be somewhat dull and boring, MOM is what the future held.
It was a good decision, wanting to be a mom. I admit that my ideals were less than realistic at first, but as experience goes, motherhood has taught me that hard isn't equal to bad, and wonderful isn't equal to forever. Absorbing each moment as it comes, tinged with excitement and optimism or blurred by frustration and anger, is the truly the only way to travel along the mommy road. As each day presents itself to me, I get to choose how I respond to my children. Deep down, I know this is a privelege. However, if I'm honest, in the shallow parts of my selfish heart I can get impatient with the demands and sometimes I miss out. I look at too big of a picture and I get overwhelmed, or I bite off teeny tiny bites and micro-manage a situation to death. And then I remind myself that BOTH perspectives are important and I ground myself into the one word that I as a mom realize I have been chasing down for the last 13 1/2 years. BALANCE. It is the master plan for this mom. The big enchilada that I am forever baking.
Too often, I get bogged down with the details, frustrated and pained with the monotony and ordinary-ness of telling my kids to put their shoes away, or reminding them to brush their teeth for the 4th time. And although that's not one of the more exciting aspects of my job, it is part of it. It can't be about shopping and creating and dinner parties all the time.
Homework and guidelines, schedules and routines; these are necessary for keeping order in our house. But rather than let the rules rule our lives, I want balance to be the leader. To learn when to let the rules lax in order that fun might have it's happy place.
If I could go back to more than a decade ago and have coffee with my scared- out- of- my- mind, excited- with- every- part- of -my- being, having-no-idea-what-to-expect-yet-expecting-so-much pregnant self, I would tell me to:
*enjoy being a mom
*write everything down - what you did, how you felt, what your kiddies were doing
*take more pictures
*remember that nothing lasts forever - good or bad
*keep every friend you have and make more - you will need them ALL.
*never stop praying for God's power to sustain you, His strength to uplift you, and His wisdom to guide you.
marky was doing meredith's makeup for their dance recital
I was born to be a mom. I believe that with every cell of my body. It is my calling, and I love being a mom. Some days sparkle with laughter and love and happy attitudes for all of us. Other days are gloomy and clouded with hardships and cranky hearts. And if I could take myself out for coffee today I would tell me...
*enjoy being a mom
*write everything down - what you did, how you felt, what your kiddies were doing
*take more pictures
*remember that nothing lasts forever - good or bad
*keep every friend you have and make more - you will need them ALL.
*never stop praying for God's power to sustain you, His strength to uplift you, and His wisdom to guide you.
I am surrounded by incredible moms. All of my friends who are moms - single, married, working, staying home, sick, well, happy, sad, moms of babies and moms of teens, - YOU are the most amazing women that I know. You sacrifice, you persevere, you enjoy, you endure. You are each a gift and a blessing to your children, and you teach me so much. Not a day goes by that I don't learn something from YOU. Happy Mother's Day. I honor and appreciate you.
