To Be A Mom

tobeamom

To Be A Mom…

“Making the decision to have a child – it is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body. ” – Elizabeth Stone

I don’t think Motherhood has ever been defined as eloquently as this quote.  And I don’t think it’s possible for you to understand unless you’ve experienced it.  I’ve been a mom for nearly six years and I’m not sure I understand it!

I had no doubt that I would love my little boy.  All I ever wanted to be was a Mom.  But I never understood that I could love him so much it physically hurts sometimes – until that moment they put him in my arms.  (Ok, in truth, it might have been the next day…I was REALLY feeling the effects of drugs and 12 hours of labor at that particular moment…)  But I digress.  As soon as I was in my right mind I began to love that little boy with my whole heart.

It feels like my heart is outside my body.  And I just want to hug him so tight that, for a moment, it feels like my heart is back in my chest.

I would think that being a mom has a broad universal meaning, but at the same time, to each individual mom it means something a little different.

To me, being a Mom is my purpose in life.  I always wanted children.  And I hope we have more but even if we don’t it is my mission in life to be the best Mom I can be to this little guy that has been given to me.

To Be a Mom… is to have a calling

That’s not to say that you can’t fulfill other callings in your life if you have kids.  But we can’t overlook that if we choose to have a child we must be committed to raising them.

To Be a Mom… is to know a love unlike any other

There is NO one on this earth that I love more than my son.  There are some close seconds.  But the love a mother has for a child is unmatched.

To Be a Mom… is to be absolutely certain you’re doing everything wrong

And usually, it’s when you think you’re doing everything wrong that you’re actually getting something right.

To Be a Mom… is to trust yourself

Everyone wants to give advice to a new mom.  Being a mom is learning to trust your instincts and what your heart says.

To Be a Mom… is to find a strength you didn’t know you had

I mean really, labor is hard.  I read somewhere that during labor a woman can feel pain that is twice the normal human threshold for pain. But we do it.  And if you’re at all like me, you can’t remember the pain.  The reward was just too great.  And it doesn’t end there.  We have to stay up all night and day, get pooped on, spit up on, go hours without eating, days without showering, all for this little person they sent us home from the hospital with and said, “Here, he’s yours.”  And there are no returns.  Inside every woman is the strength to do that for her child.

To Be a Mom… is to be selfless and self-sacrificing

I don’t think that one needs an explanation.

To Be A Mom… is to understand what our Mothers did for us

And my biggest regret is that my mother wasn’t here when my son was born so I could tell her thank you…

What does it mean to you to be a mom?