I shared some thoughts about motherhood on Instagram, but it seemed like they deserved a place on my blog. So here they are.
I have a thought about motherhood, that I’ve been wanting to share.
The thought is undeveloped, but it’s an echo of one I’ve shared many times before.
Nothing could have prepared me for motherhood.
I babysat regularly. I nannied full time. I taught elementary education, but still, it’s so different.
Nothing About Motherhood Makes Sense
Motherhood is mind bending. The ache to be out of the exhausting present moment, but the constant desire to be back in the moment you just left. Worrying that the moments are passing you by, because they are. But often too busy, to commit the special moment’s to memory.
And can we talk about the dichotomy of your children’s near constant obsession with you, while daily, sometimes hourly, rejecting your guidance and leadership. It’s enough to make you go crazy. You lose your old identity, and you find something new: someone stronger, rawer, broken, but whole. Nothing about motherhood makes sense.
“You lose your old identity, and you find something new: someone stronger, rawer, broken, but whole.”
Letting Them Go Is the Way
I always thought I’d have more children, and I’m honestly heart broken that I haven’t. Because the little years are special and magical, and now mine have passed. And the job of parenting older kids, while physically less demanding, is somehow harder because as your kids age, you have to let them go. That’s your purpose. To lessen your grip and help them find their own way. So the process can repeat. In the past, I’ve even called it cruel. To love something so much, just to let it go. But this is the way.
So, leading up to Mother’s Day, just know whether you are a mom, or you have a mom. Motherhood is messy. If you’re harboring unforgiveness in your heart for something in the past.
Let it go.
Moms mess up, and kids mess up, because we are both humans trying our best, and yet sometimes still failing. Today is the perfect day, to tell your mom (or your kids) how much you love them, and how much you forgive them. 💗
Hug a mom today. Tell her she’s doing a great job. Remind her this is some of the hardest work.
Check out my post on a Mother’s Day activity