Being a mom. It is the hardest job I have ever loved.
It’s a job I prayed for, I hoped for, and dreamed of having. And for a long time I feared I would never get to have.
It is a job that is more difficult than I could have ever imagined. But also more amazing.
Being a mom knocks me to my knees
It’s a job that brings me to my knees in prayer. Asking for guidance, for patience, and for strength. It is a job that fills me with fear and anxiety as much as it fills me with hope and love.
Being a mom is the most HUMBLING job I can imagine.
It’s the only job there is NEVER ever a break from. There are a million ways to do it. Yet almost every single person I know doing it fears they are doing it wrong. Or worries they could be doing it better. Being in charge of another person’s world is a huge responsibility. Sometimes overwhelming, other times daunting. And a privilege and blessing too often taken for granted.
So many approches to being a mom
There are infinite approaches, philosophies, and perspectives on how to be a mother. We even make up labels for moms. “Helicopter Mom” “Soccer Mom” “Tiger Mom” “Free Range Mom”…. I could go on and on. With social media, smart phones, pinterest, and google, being a mother is very different today than it was for our moms. And it will be different for our children.
Being a mother is hard, scary, ever changing work.
We rarely get feedback on how we are doing as a mother- unless it is negative feedback. Sadly, we are often judged most mother by:
- ourselves
- other moms.
Doing our best
The thing is- I genuinely believe most moms are doing THE VERY BEST that they can to parent. And I believe we’re more alike than we are different. Most of all, though,
I believe the more HONEST and AUTHENTIC we are about being a mom- the better.
The world does not need any more pinterest-perfect moms. It needs honest to goodness moms who make mistakes, share their experiences, and learn and grow.
It isn’t possible to be a perfect mother. And the effort that goes in to pretending to be one is exhausting. A huge part of my recovery from an eating disorder has focused on allowing myself to embrace the messy, chaotic, and IMPERFECT parts of parenting. And accepting that I will never be a perfect mother. Because that simply does not exist. But trusting that I CAN be the mother my boys need.
Leave a Reply