Twenty years from now, when my kids are grown, I want to look back on the early days of motherhood and remember those simple, everyday moments that paint a picture of what being a mom REALLY means.
To me, being a mom means…
1. Making pancakes in the shape of the first letter of your kids’ names because it makes them smile.
2. Singing “twinkle twinkle little star” for the 1000th time and actually enjoying it because this time your child could pronounce just a few more words than the last.
3. Wiping with the toilet paper roll because your toddler forgot to tell you she used the last square.
4. Playing outside in 25 degree weather because your kids begged you to play tee ball and if they don’t get some energy out you might just lose your mind!
5. Wiping tears from your daughters cheeks because she realized her belly button looked different than her sisters.
6. Trying not to lose it when your child tells you the favorite part of her day was the time she spent on her tablet.
7. Realizing your efforts are all worthwhile when you ask your children at dinner what they would do if they could live forever and they answer “live in this house with you.”
8. Driving 20 minutes to your daughter’s school with two other kids in tow to drop off $4 so she can buy overpriced candy and “prizes” like Fantastic Flubber and Crazy Rock Pets at the Econ Fair. Because as trivial as it may seem to us as adults you know it means the world to your child.
9. Waking up early. Really early. On someone else’s schedule. Forever. Or at least until your kids are all in college.
10. Mastering how to sleep on the edge of the bed…or on the floor…or not at all.
11. Cutting the crust off the bread, picking out the “squishy” blueberries from the container, and breaking the burnt tips off of french fries. And then feeling a bit guilty for serving your kids french fries for the third day in a row.
12. Singing songs with lyrics like, “What do you see? What do you see? I see a little car. I see a little (insert name of moving vehicle here)” a million times a day.
13. Yelling at your kids to Stop, Think and Act and then feeling quite convicted.
14. Crawling around on the floor and meowing like a cat because it makes your child burst out in laughter and then wiping a tear from his cheek when you decided to roar like a lion and it scared him.
15. Having picnic lunches on the kitchen floor because it still too cold to go outside (and now they are calling for MORE snow?! No!!)
16. Feeling good that you’re teaching your kids healthy habits until your oldest starts to critique what your adults friends are eating and telling them they should put less cream cheese on their bagel.
17. Desperately needing a girls night and then somehow missing them while you’re away.
18. Holding up a big giant mirror to all your best and worst and most annoying qualities.
19. Playing cars with your 2 year old son, which looks something like:
Me: “Hi, red truck. My name is blue race car (or whatever moving vehicle Luke has given me).”
Luke: “Hi, blue race car. My name is red truck.”
And then repeating this over…and over…and over and trying to fake the enthusiasm after the thirteenth time.
20. Knowing the moment your child was born and you became a mom that there is NO WAY he/she was just a randomly evolved set of chemical reactions, but rather a living miracle – a gift from God that will change your life FOREVER and teach you what it means to love unconditionally and wholeheartedly.
21. Knowing that the love that we feel does not come purely from a series of chemical reactions in our brain, but rather from a source much bigger and greater than us. This kind of love comes from God himself.
CALL TO ACTION: What does being a mom mean to you? Comment below and add to this list!
