Just a Mom

I have always heard that being a mother is the best job you can have. As a teen I was skeptical, it seemed there had to be more to life than soothing crying babies, making PB&Js, and forcing teenagers to comply with rules they thought were stupid. At 16 I had plans to do “more” with my life than just be a mom. I planned to go to college, graduate school, and have a fabulous career, never once considering that motherhood might be both more rewarding and challenging than the other option. I hadn’t ruled out motherhood, but I never dreamed of being a stay at home mom, instead I planned on other things. I am now three months into the journey commonly referred to as motherhood and have made the decision, can you even believe it, to stay home with my son. If I had the opportunity to go back and tell my 16 year old self anything about motherhood, I would tell her this- Motherhood is both the most rewarding and challenging thing that you can do. It is like showing up for a job you aren’t sure you are qualified for daily. You cross your fingers and pray that your shortcomings and failures won’t be noticed or result in lasting issues. Motherhood is 24/7, school and a career aren’t, it is all consuming, life changing, and wonderful all at the same time. Motherhood brings out skills and parts of your personality you didn’t know you had, requires patience you aren’t always sure you can muster, and creates more opportunities to kneel in prayer than you thought possible. While difficult, motherhood provides you with experiences more rewarding than another degree, a promotion at work, or recognition by your peers. Motherhood allows you to appreciate the smaller things in life- 2 hours of sleep in a row, a smile, or eating dinner while it is still warm. Motherhood allows the opportunity to understand true love, only true love gets a sleep deprived mom out of bed to soothe the crying baby, reassure the 5 year old that monsters are not in fact hiding in the closet, and care for a sick child for the third night in a row. So dear 16 year old self, being just a mom is so much more than just PB&Js, more than enforcing the rules, and more than soothing the crying baby.