New Thoughts on Mother's Day

FYI - This post might be a little non-PC for which I apologize but I soldier on nonetheless. Another caveat, I make no apologies for poor grammar or punctuation. Read at your peril.


For years I really had no interest in having children; and then I got married and felt the clock ticking. Not that I necessarily wanted to be a mother per se, but it seemed like the next logical step in life and . . . the clock was ticking. Fast forward several years of trying and failing at pregnancy and I still don't think I wanted to be a mother so much as I didn't like being unsuccessful at something I had put my mind to do. Fast forward another year or two and I've finally gotten pregnant but I'm not sure I'm going to like this change to my comfortable daily routine, but people seem to be excited for me so I think I should be excited to, plus the wiggling in my tummy is kind of fun, so I go with it.

In all those years of Mother's Days I sat quietly listening to the accolades of mothers and thought of my own darling mommy and then I'd cringe at the well-intentioned nods to women without children who "mother" in their own special way. This might make some feel included, but it always made me feel spotlighted and then pitied, neither of which I remotely wanted. For me it was okay that Mother's Day not turn into Women's Day or Nurturer's Day.

So now that I am a Mother on Mother's Day, I want to say, I LOVE being a Mother. I love it way more than I ever thought I would. I love the insights I gain on how Heavenly Father tries to teach me in the same way I try to teach my babes. I love the growth I've seen in myself as I struggle through rough not-so-nice-mommy moments but then rally after some much needed sweet hours of prayers. I love watching my children loving on each other. I love watching their sweet little faces and drinking in the sweet moments of childhood. I love rejoicing in their victories and helping them work through their frustrations, even if it means living in fear of when the next tantrum will strike.

I know I am not a perfect mother, but I also know that I am doing a much better job than I would have if I had been blessed with children in my 20's. Some women are great no matter their age, but I needed a few extra years. I know motherhood only gets tougher as my babies grow but for right now let me feel successful that at least so far I'm doing okay.