A Few Things I Love About Motherhood…

1. While rocking my precious one in the dark before putting her to bed, listening to the soft slurping sound of her sucking her thumb, I felt that pudgy little hand reach up, find my face and softly pat my cheek.
2. Looking closely into the face of my sweet, pig-tailed two-year old, at her bright smile and squishy round cheeks I say, “Give Mommy a kiss-kiss?” I lean in, nearly nose-to-nose, looking at those big round smiling eyes as her mouth forms not a cute fishy pucker but a big open circle and greets me with a BURRRRP!
3. Taking the kids out to breakfast at Cracker Barrel and while waiting for it to arrive, my four-year old princess points to a picture of a pretty blond on an advertisement and says, “Look Mommy! Hannah Montana!” “No, sweetie,” I say. “That’s Dolly Parton.” A blank look. “Oh.” Wow - I instantly feel a lot more dated!
4. Laying in the dark with my sweet heart, I feel her reach over, feeling around for something. She finds my hand and pulls it around her in a warm, snuggly hug.
5. The knowledge that any time I have ever wanted my son to take a nap, no matter how resistant he may be to the idea, I can win and have him snoring away as long as I will lay with him, rubbing his bare back, then his neck and finally his hair. Ninety-nine times out of a hundred it will work, even now. Of course this is if I don't fall asleep first!!
6. And if he's running around crazy and I want him to instantly calm down, I reach out as he whizzes past, get him to stand still long enough for me to ask him a question or tell him something as I strategically start rubbing his hair. I can let go as if to let him be on his way again, but often times he will resist the cast-off and snuggle up to me saying something like, "Keep doing it, Mommy. Keep rubbing my hair." I can usually get him to stand calmly, snuggled up to me, for at least five minutes like that. Then when he does run off again, he's at least a gear or two lower than when I snagged him.
7. It amazes me how you can know your child is going to throw up before they ever do it just by looking at their face. And then even more amazing is how you find yourself rushing in without hesitation to catch the puke in your double-cupped hands before it hits the pillow so that you won’t have to change the bed sheets!
8. It’s interesting to me to realize how much more capable I can be on so little sleep than I ever imagined possible. This coming from someone who once relished 12 hours of sleep per night on the weekends and whose family knew to never call before noon! I have become quite good at functioning on very little sleep and/or continuously disrupted sleep whether through those newborn months with round the clock feedings or through various stages where all three children have EACH woken me up at different times throughout the night EVERY night!
9. Poopy Faces! Sounds gross I know, but the expressions that my kids make while pushing out the poop are so funny! It’s almost like a smile, but not. The eyes get a little strained, the sides of the mouth curl up a little like the beginnings of a smile but the lips don’t part. Then after the impending wet “Plop!” their faces relax and the incessant chatter returns as if there had never been the slightest interruption!
10. That most wonderful sound of a true, deep belly laugh that can only be achieved through the best of tickle-attacks. They are lost in a blissful world of sensation almost completely unable to catch their breath from laughing so hard. And as soon as you stop and they find themselves able to breathe again, they giggle out with eyes still dancing, “Again! Again!”
11. The pride my six-year old son exudes when he talks to a new adult, eagerly introducing himself, introducing both of his sisters, telling all of their ages and then sharing a drawing at hand or recounting an accomplishment or a new experience he’s just had. His eyes dance, his grin ear-to-ear, his dimples so deep. And you can just see and feel how proud he feels while talking to this adult, holding their undivided attention.
12. One thing I definitely don’t like about motherhood is the feeling of failure. We mothers expect way too much of ourselves, feel like we have to be the master of everything, feel like everyone is judging us and our ability as a mother, worry that our kids are going to see right through us, not respect us, or worse, end up hating us. But just as I start feeling so down and upset because my kids obey my husband so much better than me… they get a boo-boo. Or they wake up in the middle of the night. Or they can’t find something. And who do they come to? Mommy. They want Mommy’s love to heal that boo-boo or chase away the bad dreams or help them find that lost treasure. When they come to me to ask me a question or to show me a new, exciting find, my heart swells with pride and joy and I feel loved and successful all over again. I feel like I am doing it right! I am a good Mommy! I may not be the perfect Mommy, but no one other than God will ever love them more or be willing to doing more for them than me, their Mommy!
13. We had started letting my six year old son take showers on his own rather than getting a bath with his sisters. The tub was getting a bit too crowded and Mommy was getting a little more than soaked with each bath. I forget how it came about, but several months later, I ended up bathing Jared separately after the girls rather than having him shower on his own. While bathing him, I commented to him on how much I was enjoying bathing him and how I hadn’t realized how much I’d missed it. He seemed somewhat confused by the comment so I tried to explain but figured much of my explanation about him being my first-born was lost on him. A couple nights later I told him that I was about to bathe the girls and then I wanted him to get into the shower when they were done. He said, “No, Mommy. I want you to bathe me tonight.” I said, “Oh really? How come?” His reply was so sweet, “because I know how much you miss it.”