Happy Mother’s Day
May 10, 2009 by Lisa Beth
As this “day for moms” came around again, I am reminded of how great it really is to be a mom. My plans for the day (in my mind) included sleeping in, breakfast in bed, scrapbooking, watching a movie and early to bed. My day is not quite shaping up “as planned”. Brooklyn was up at 430 am wanting to eat (kind of unusual for her), once I got her back to sleep, Wyatt was up at 630, and breakfast was a bowl of Raisin Bran while watching Sponge Bob. My scrapbooking plans are not going as planned either. As I came down to my office, Brooklyn woke up from her nap before I could start, and Chris is gone running errands so now I’m blogging with the baby in my lap. In fact, I think she just pooped, so changing a blowout may be in my near future…
But as I was kind of stewing about the fact that the one day meant to appreciate moms was not going exactly the way I envisioned, I started to realize that this everyday stuff is exactly what being a mom is. When I became a mom, I quickly realized that free time is a luxury, not a given. That days of laying around with not a care in the world are gone. Once I became a mom for the second time, I realized that two kids take triple the work, if not more ( I know it defies all logic, but it’s true). That days of no clean socks and underwear are here to stay. Just in the short time since I have sat down to write this blog, I have gotten a baby up from her nap, held her, cleaned a poopy diaper, made a bottle, fed her, burped her, made a second bottle ‘cuz the first one wasn’t enough, fed her, burped her, kissed her multiple times, and rocked her back to sleep.
I have also realized that it isn’t just about me anymore, and I’ll be the first to admit, I like it being about me. But once you become a mom, you come the the realization it’s just not. Often times, when I’m frustrated or annoyed, or just plain exhausted, I find myself taking a step back and looking at the bigger picture. Sure, it’s frustrating when the baby won’t go to bed when I want. It’s annoying when Wyatt doesn’t listen to a word I say without defying me somehow. It’s exhausting when the kids rotate getting up every couple of hours and I have a 745 meeting in the morning. But I wouldn’t trade it for the world. I love my kids more than anything in this world, and sometimes I find that I need to take a deep breath and love my life for what it is, not how I think it should be. Because, let’s face it, raising kids is challenging every single day. There are bad moments, sad moments, and exhausting moments. But there are also great moments, happy moments and life changing moments. And these are the ones I want to remember.
When I was pregnant with Wyatt, my OB-GYN told me something I still remember word-for word:
LISA: “Dr. Woodrow, I’m not one of those women who loves being pregnant.”
DR.: “Really? How so?”
LISA: “Well, there’s a lot of stuff happening to me that you never told me about.”
DR.: “I know, but if we told you these things before you were pregnant, no one would want to have babies.”
LISA: “Point taken. It just seems a little unfair.”
DR.: “Trust me, Lisa, when you are holding that baby in your arms, you’ll forget all the bad stuff. And I can guarantee you’ll do it all over again.”
What a wise man he is.
Patty on Mon, 11th May 2009 1:24 pm
Lisa — You just have to stop making me cry…I love this post and I am proud that I had a hand in shaping the wonderful daughter, wife and mother you have become.
I love you,
Mom