Saturday, May 12, 2012

Motherhood Is...

Recently I entered an essay contest about motherhood.  I didn't win, but I feel this essay sums up pretty well how I feel about motherhood, so I thought I'd share it with you.

MOTHERHOOD IS

Motherhood is an interesting word to try and define. It reminds me of the beginning line in A Tale of Two Cities: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times”. For me the best of times include getting a spontaneous hug from my 3-year-old or seeing my 6-year-old make his bed without being asked. It is seeing my children playing nicely together or making special presents for their grandparents. It is throwing a successful birthday party or listening to them describe a fun day at school or a friend's house. Motherhood is the best when I can put my children to bed at the end of the day and feel good about the choices they made, which is often a reflection of how I've raised them. At those times I think to myself “I love being a mother. I am so thankful that God has granted me these two beautiful angels for me to love and raise.” During the best of times I think of myself as “Supermom”; able to do 10 loads of laundry in one day, or make a delicious, healthy snack for my kids that will make them say “Wow Mom, we love you!” These are the times when I can do no wrong and I have the world at my feet.  And then there are the worst of times. Temper tantrums, throwing up, sibling rivalry, messy rooms, etc. These are the days when I feel like letting my husband take care of the kids and escaping to some far off place all by myself. These are the days that I am forced to separate my kids before World War III breaks out. I have been a mother for almost 7 years, and while there are plenty of times when I might toy with the idea of going back to work or getting a full-time nanny, all I have to do is look at my daughter's beautiful face or hear my son tell me a funny story and I remember why I chose to make motherhood my full-time job. Because motherhood is frustrating, hard, exasperating, beautiful, fun, and the most wonderful thing I could be doing with my life.

I love being a mother to Will and Kayla.  They teach me so much every day about love, friendship, service, compassion, patience, forgiveness, and so many other things.  They are active, crazy, silly, creative, amazing children.  Yes I have bad days, yes I want to throw in the towel and quit sometimes, but at the end of the day I don't think I would trade motherhood for anything else.

1 comment:

Liz Jensen said...

I hope you don't trade motherhood for anything else because you inspire me too much doing what you're doing! Happy Mothers Day cousin, love you.