I’ve only been rocking this motherhood thing for about 15 weeks {not counting the 40 weeks 1 day my boy was in the womb, which we should totally still get credit for} so I am by NO MEANS an expert on the topic, but one thing that I find myself consistently noticing is how rare it is for people to point out just how awesome it all is. I swear people looked at me like I had a nose in the middle of my forehead when they asked me how Duke was a few months after he was born and I responded with “he’s wonderful!” I’m not sure if they expected me to only talk about being tired or comment on how frequently I have to change his diaper and/or clothes, but he truly makes me happier than anything on this planet, and that’s the part I’d rather talk about! Don’t get me wrong, I think this is likely the hardest job on the planet and it never really ends, but being positive helps me a heck of a lot more than negativity.
I’m so sick of the notion that we must all commiserate in misery about everything and that encouraging and celebrating the good takes such effort. There are countless people that have told me just how fast time passes when you have children, but not in a way that encourages me to soak it up, instead they make it sound terrible. Like “ah, check this one out. She’s new. See that naive smile? Let’s tell her how fast it will all fly by. Hurry, tell her before she thinks it will be like this forever!” Anyone else get this? I think instead of “Enjoy it mama! It goes by fast.” I get, “Yea, enjoy it now. Before you know it he’ll be heading off to college.”
I am totally starting to understand just how quickly time passes with a little one, but watching my little man grow and thrive is amazing. I just wish more people would encourage each other with the wonderful stories about parenting, Lord knows we all could use them on a rough day! I want to cherish and remember all of the little moments and then move on to embracing the present stage of life that will no doubt be gone before I know it. It’s easier said than done, but I try my best to be intentional and present.
On the other hand, there are the amazing people that stop to say “Isn’t it great? It’s the best thing you’ll ever do and it only gets better- don’t let anyone tell you differently.” I want to jump out of my seat and hug those people {like the waiter I had a restaurant a few weeks ago}. So far it’s only been 15 weeks and I have to agree that time seems to pass by pretty quickly, but it keeps getting better! {and honestly if you think it gets worse, please lie to me!} There are new smiles, giggles, and sounds. There are milestones reached. I scared Duke half to death because I was so insanely excited when he wrapped his tiny fingers around the ring of his elephant toy. My heart filled with pride as I watched him grab his toys and squeeze them and bring them up to his mouth so be could cover them in drool. I am fascinated by this tiny person and how he literally grows overnight and how nothing trivial seems to matter when he’s gazing up at me with a sleepy, milk-drunk smile. I feel like he’s saying “We’ve got this mama”. Because we’re all a team. We’re all in this together and we all benefit from the success and happiness of each other.
So to all my fellow new-mamas out there, there will likely be those times when you contemplate googling “how long can a child scream before passing out from sheer exhaustion?” or something to that effect, but you’ll wake up the next morning to a sweet smiling face and mostly forget about the screaming. You’ll stare into that sweet face and hug that little body and remember just how fantastic it is that you get to be this kid’s mom. I think that parenting is generally a game of trial and error…you have to find what works best for your child and for your family and as long as your babies are safe, fed, warm, and loved, then kudos, you’re doing it right! Here’s to hoping we can all spend a little more time encouraging each other and lifting each other up, and a little less time raining on everyone’s parade.
If you actually made it all the way through this long winded post, thank you 😉
Until next time!
-T-
