Last night I stepped in a pee diaper on the way to the bathroom. It was five thirty in the morning, and it squished between my toes. Today my almost three year old threw a bowl of chips on the floor, crushed them up in the carpet and then ate them. Tonight my six year old got mad at me because I took away the fruit snacks she was supposed to get due to bad behavior. She screamed at me and then cried herself to sleep. I’m pretty sure my kids might actually be trying to kill me today.
I’m going to tell you a secret that no one would dare tell you. Motherhood is hard. Parenting is hard. It is not a walk in the park. It is not always play dates, and perfectly behaved kids. In fact it is rarely that. Motherhood is a raw, emotional, dirty experience. It can hurt you on an emotional and sometimes physical level, (cue getting mastitis or a bite to the arm by a teething six month old). It can make you think that you are doing everything wrong. It can cause you to have a full blown panic attack at the thought of taking a grumpy toddler who hasn’t pooped yet for the day to the grocery store. It can make you want to literally pull your hair out when your six year old talks back to you, and tells you that “you don’t know what you’re talking about,” while you’re bathing her, and her brother is spitting shower water all over your legs. It can make you feel an exhaustion that you have never before felt until you had kids. It can make you worry more than you ever have in your life.
It can also do a few more things to you. It can make you realize that it isn’t all about you. It can take any selfish tendencies you might have had, and totally squash them. It can make you look past outward appearances, and see people for what they really are, or aren’t. It can make you see what is really important, and what is bullshit. It can make you love so much and so deep, it physically hurts. It can make you worry about the littlest things when it involves the well being of your child. It can make you fierce and maybe a little mean when you feel like your babies might be threatened. It can make you love your partner more than you thought possible when you see them change a diaper. Extra points if it’s a poop diaper. It can change your priorities completely. It can make you push yourself farther than you ever thought possible. It can give you the opportunity to watch sunrises because you have been up for hours with a fussy baby. It can make you see that time does in fact pass really quickly. It can make you aware of what your limit is, and then it can make you push past it. It can change you and shape you into a better person. It can make you see what your purpose in life really is. It can show you that love really is the most important thing. It can make you know, deep down, that love really is the thread of life.
Being a parent is hard work. Being a mother is hard work. But above all, it is a divine privilege. Sometimes it can make us feel, and look like we’ve been beat. Sometimes we might find poop in our hair. Sometimes we are so exhausted we could cry. But it is all so well worth it. You will never love and be loved so intensely as when you are a mother. It is a tireless and selfless act. And it is the most important, most incredible thing you will ever do in your life.
I’m going to tell you a secret that no one would dare tell you. Motherhood is hard. Parenting is hard. It is not a walk in the park. It is not always play dates, and perfectly behaved kids. In fact it is rarely that. Motherhood is a raw, emotional, dirty experience. It can hurt you on an emotional and sometimes physical level, (cue getting mastitis or a bite to the arm by a teething six month old). It can make you think that you are doing everything wrong. It can cause you to have a full blown panic attack at the thought of taking a grumpy toddler who hasn’t pooped yet for the day to the grocery store. It can make you want to literally pull your hair out when your six year old talks back to you, and tells you that “you don’t know what you’re talking about,” while you’re bathing her, and her brother is spitting shower water all over your legs. It can make you feel an exhaustion that you have never before felt until you had kids. It can make you worry more than you ever have in your life.
It can also do a few more things to you. It can make you realize that it isn’t all about you. It can take any selfish tendencies you might have had, and totally squash them. It can make you look past outward appearances, and see people for what they really are, or aren’t. It can make you see what is really important, and what is bullshit. It can make you love so much and so deep, it physically hurts. It can make you worry about the littlest things when it involves the well being of your child. It can make you fierce and maybe a little mean when you feel like your babies might be threatened. It can make you love your partner more than you thought possible when you see them change a diaper. Extra points if it’s a poop diaper. It can change your priorities completely. It can make you push yourself farther than you ever thought possible. It can give you the opportunity to watch sunrises because you have been up for hours with a fussy baby. It can make you see that time does in fact pass really quickly. It can make you aware of what your limit is, and then it can make you push past it. It can change you and shape you into a better person. It can make you see what your purpose in life really is. It can show you that love really is the most important thing. It can make you know, deep down, that love really is the thread of life.
Being a parent is hard work. Being a mother is hard work. But above all, it is a divine privilege. Sometimes it can make us feel, and look like we’ve been beat. Sometimes we might find poop in our hair. Sometimes we are so exhausted we could cry. But it is all so well worth it. You will never love and be loved so intensely as when you are a mother. It is a tireless and selfless act. And it is the most important, most incredible thing you will ever do in your life.
Over Yonder 