What It Means to be a Mother

What it means to be a mother is different depending on the stage of life you are in, but one thing that remains the same is that you will never stop loving or worrying about your kids. My kids are 19 and 16 so I haven’t experienced them as adults, but I can’t imagine never worrying about them in some regard.

When my kids were younger I never would have thought I’d find myself:

1.  Asking for a specific McDonald’s Happy Meal toy because my child needed a certain one to complete the set.

2. Calling Hallmark stores searching for a specific beanie baby because that’s the one my kid really wants for Christmas or a birthday.

3. Watching Barney at 3:00 am because my daughter can’t sleep and knowing all the annoying Barney songs by heart.

4. Having to use every negotiating skill ever learned from my job in sales.

Then there are things that just automatically go along with the territory such as:

1. Not being able to go to the bathroom in peace.

2. Wiping snotty noses, poopy pants and doing load after load of laundry.

3. Singing Rock-A-Bye baby repeatedly and getting cramps in your arm from holding your child when their sick.

4. Getting your heart broken whenever theirs hurts.

5. Worrying if your child is well fed, warm enough, has brushed their teeth or had a bowel movement in the last several days.

6. Giving up the last good piece of bread for their sandwich.

Then as your kids get older all of a sudden they don’t need you as much.

1. You have to let them spread their wings and leave the comfy nest you’ve spent years creating.

2. They forget to call you because they are too busy having fun with their friends and enjoying their newfound independence.

3. You worry about them driving, peer pressure from other friends, if their socializing too much or not enough, and just their safety in general.

These are examples of what it means to be a mother looks like for me and many other people I know. Everyone’s experiences are different depending on your circumstances in life and how many kids you have. For some mothers it means working two jobs to support their kids or spoon-feeding their child into adulthood due to their special needs.  Motherhood may require weekly doctor appointments and getting up at 5:00 everyday to make breakfast. Mothers do these things out of love for their family and we make mistakes. If you’re like me sometimes we whine about our motherly duties, but we are blessed by the children we are given and that is what it means to be a mother.

I hope all the mom’s of the world have a wonderful Mother’s Day Weekend. Please share in the comments what being a mother means to you.