Lessons Learned From Motherhood

Mothers Day is coming soon and it has got me thinking about the many things I didn’t know about motherhood before I became a mom. There really is no way to mentally prepare. I remember the day after my first child was born sitting in the hospital filling out paperwork.  When I saw the line for Mother I honestly thought, “That’s odd, I wonder why they need to know my mom’s name.” That’s when it hit me, “Wait, I’M the mother!”

The night my son was born I remember feeling deeply in love with this new, precious life that I had carried around for 9 months. This love was stronger than I had imagined and so instant. It seemed my heart had suddenly grown. I had no idea that having a baby would also make me fall even more in love with my husband. I was amazed at his strength. I felt so bonded and connected to him. I felt completely vulnerable as he helped take care of me that night and I felt so loved and cherished. Not to mention the thrill it brought to my heart to watch him hold my son and sing him lullabies in the middle of the night.

“Ma ma” “Mommy” “Mom” I’ve said the words, written the words, read them, and even heard them in reference to others, but until I heard them from the lips of my offspring, I had no idea how precious it felt to be called Mom. Whether she says it with delight when she sees me at the door picking her up from nursery, or he calls for me with fear in the middle of the night, hearing it said in reference to myself warms me inside and out. I didn’t know how good it felt to be called Mommy.

Until I had kids I had no idea how much could happen in a split second. It seems you can turn your back and in an instant they can go from playing contentedly to falling and hitting their head, or to fighting, or to having colored a picture on the wall. Yet in the same token, who knew how inefficient children can be. I had no idea it would literally take me 45 min to get myself and my crew out of house, into the car, buckled in, and out of the driveway. Who knew that their was a 15 min black hole between my living room and my front door which seemed to take me from being on time to suddenly late in an instant?

I also didn’t know how much a person could do with one hand! I had no idea that I would one day be able to cook an entire meal, vacuum the house, unload the groceries, wipe a child’s butt, and nurse a baby, all with one hand (because the other hand is holding a child)!

I had been warned but didn’t really know how quickly time would fly and how desperately I would want to make time stand still.

_There was so much I didn’t know about motherhood before I became a mom (and SO MUCH still I have to learn)! If you want to share what you didn’t know before becoming a mom, check out the link below for a Mother’s Day Blog Bash. Let’s share those lessons learned.
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[] (http://notesfrommynest.blogspot.com/2008/04/sneak-peek.html)