Buckle Up!

I wish someone would’ve told me how hard motherhood is. Not to discourage me from having kids but to be that voice at 2 AM for the 5th night in a row with just the baby and me to remind me that it’s just a season. The season won’t last forever, and it’s okay if I don’t miss the season when it passes; that doesn’t mean I’m a bad mother.

I wish someone would’ve told me that I will lose my temper more than once, and each time it’ll be okay and I will start anew. Kids are supposed to be kids, which means they will strike a few nerves, and I wish someone would’ve told me that my love for my kids isn’t measured in my frustrations towards them because without hesitation I will risk it all and lay down my life for them.

I wish someone would’ve told me that when I make mistakes to remember that I, too, am only human. Mothers are superhuman, but human. I wish someone would’ve told me that my kids just want me just the way that I am.

I wish someone would’ve told me that mom guilt is not real, but yet another way for society to tell moms that no matter what they do, they will never measure up. I wish someone would’ve told me that no matter what I do, I will never measure up to society’s version of “mom,” and it doesn’t matter because when my kids say mom, mama, or mommy, they are calling for me as I am not what society says I should be.

I wish someone would’ve told me that motherhood is the most exhausting, rewarding, mind-numbing, exciting experience, and a mother’s love is unwavering and unconditional, even on the days when you question every decision. When you feel like you can barely put one foot in front of the other, the love for your children whispers, “One step at a time, one day at a time.”

I wish someone would’ve told me that motherhood forces you to come face-to-face with yourself and that most demons have their own boxing gloves. Sometimes, you must go ten rounds or more with your demons because they never miss a fight. But the more you face your demons, the less rounds you’ll have to go.

I wish someone would’ve told me that each time I brought my babies into the world, I’d meet two new people on those days – child and mother.