There are certain truths about motherhood that I’ve come to realize…
Motherhood is learning to enjoy cold beverages that should be hot.
Motherhood is learning to share anything that’s on your plate.
Motherhood is your workout being chasing after your toddler.
Motherhood is learning that your body is not your own anymore. There will always be a little hand touching you. Pretty soon you don’t even notice it.
Motherhood is not letting your anger or frustration get the better of you.
Motherhood is prioritizing. It’s figuring out what chores must be done today and what can wait for tomorrow.
But for all of these truths about motherhood, there is so much more to it.
There is the pain you feel when you little one is injured and crying, as if you can feel all their pain right inside your own body.
It is the sleepless nights of worry and research. It’s telling yourself that Google isn’t trustworthy, but you just can’t stop thinking about that rash or bite or whatever it may be that your baby has, so you look anyways.
It is watching your little one’s curiosity blossom and the excitement they feel when they learn something new. It’s the pride you feel when they come to you proud of their new piece of artwork or the song they learned.
It’s deciphering their words when others can barely understand them yet. They are trying so hard to be heard and sometimes you are their only translator.
Motherhood is messy and dirty and sometimes feels like a never-ending chore. There are times when you so badly will want help and yet, you know that so often you just want to do it yourself because it may be done quicker or better.
We talk about having a tribe or a group of moms to surround us. There are millions of moms groups online, support groups, and more for us moms to share our experiences, to seek advice, and to commiserate.
And yet…
And yet it’s still a lonely world, being a mom. Often times these little people around us are the only ones for us to talk to. They depend on us to be strong, to be their rocks. So we bury any pain or hurt, any sadness deep down.
And yet it can be hard to talk to others in the real world. Our children become our worlds. Many times that’s all we want to talk about because we are just so proud or excited! It isn’t that we aren’t interested in your life. It’s just that a part of ourselves has done something amazing that we have been waiting all day or week to share with someone who may not be biased.
And yet we can start to be forgotten by those who were our friends before we became moms.
I remember when I first had Little Mister, I had friends from my pre-mom life who were supposed to be coming into town for the holidays. I was so excited to see them, especially because I was struggling both as a mom and with some of Little Mister’s health issues. I was looking forward to getting out of the house, looking forward to stepping away from the baby blues.
But they didn’t call. I didn’t hear from them. After waiting the entirety of their visit to hear from them, I reached out. Turned out they didn’t want to bother the new mom.
That was when I knew things were different. That was when I knew that motherhood created a distinct separation between my pre-mom friends and my mom friends. My pre-mom friends are still amazing people and wonderful friends (and some are now moms and have moved into the mom side), but they aren’t the ones who will be able to relate to me and the motherhood struggle anymore. It’s okay. They may get there, they may not. They’re supportive in their own way, and that’s important, too.
Motherhood is an amazing journey that exhausting, thrilling, and sometimes depressing.
Motherhood is every emotion that you can think of and every emotion you didn’t know existed.
Motherhood has highs and has lows. There will be days where you just need to have a break and walk away for a bit to try to remember who you are and there are days where all you need is to snuggle next to your little ones.
There are many certain truths about motherhood but the biggest one is this –
Motherhood is a journey. How we live it and experience it is different for each of us, just as unique as our children are. Motherhood is a wonderful gift that not all are fortunate enough to experience.
Childhood is fleeting but motherhood is forever.
Happy Mother’s Day!