Motherhood

Befitting the fact that tomorrow is Mother's Day (which quite possibly is the most important holiday we have all year . . . just kidding), I decided to jump on the 'ole bandwagon (cliche I know) and do a post about being a mother.

When I look back over my childhood, teenage, and college years (already this sounds like the beginning of a really cheesy made for t.v. movie) I realize that I never really thought about becoming a mother one day. I have quite possibly the most wonderful mother on the face of the earth. She's always been steady, balanced, supportive, and loving. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I want to be just like her when I grow up. And believe me some days I still have a lot of growing up to do. I am very blessed to have parents who were always there for me (wow! I'm all about cliches today). In all honesty, I didn't realize how amazing my home life was and how truly blessed I am until I started teaching school. I mean I always knew there were others that didn't have everything I had, but I never really grasped the reality of that until I saw children heartbroken because they hadn't seen their father in weeks or because their parents had forgotten yet another birthday (it doesn't just happen on t.v.). My parents were there for every band concert, every measly award's ceremony, every horrific basketball game, every end of the year ceremony and graduation. They pulled the trailer for the band, and my dad went to Disney World with about 50 teenagers. I'm sure that wasn't exactly how he wanted to spend three days of his life, but he did it with a smile on his face. Through all of this, I don't think I really grasped how good I had it. I guess I thought that everyone's parents did the same for them. Which kind of shows you how naive I was.

So anyway, you know I have a habit of wandering off topic, I didn't spend a lot of my life thinking about getting married and having babies. I was always very ambitious academically. There wasn't ever any doubt that I would go off to college and there absolutely was no question that marriage wouldn't happen until after I finished school. 

So I went off to college, with a lot of some gentle prodding from my parents. And after I finished, but before Patrick finished (another story for another day), we got married on July 12, 2003. We were married for around two and half years when I decided it was time for a baby. I wasn't longing for a baby, I wasn't dreaming about a baby, I was just ready. I'm very matter of a fact like that. In March of 2007 we announced we were having a baby, and I, of course, went about methodically preparing our new arrival.

Andrew came, with a lot of drama (because drama is necessary around here), in October of 2007 a little early, but very healthy, and suddenly I understood something I had never understood before, I understood what it meant to be a mother. Even when I was exhausted, wiped out, and quite frankly at the end of my proverbial rope, I would've killed for that 4 1/2 pound baby laying in the bassinet in my bedroom. I understand now from personal experience what people are talking about when they compare a human mother to a mother bear or a mother lion. You mess with my kid you mess with me.

Since then, I have never looked back. I have found that the job I didn't know I wanted is the greatest job in the world. I cannot imagine not being a mother. That's not to say that everyday is easy and simple. If you've met my child, then you know that he is strong willed and hard headed. If you've met him, you also know that he is funny, engaging, curious, smart, happy, and a whole lot of fun (yes this is a mother bragging). Being a mother is fulfilling in way that I never imagined. And the crazy thing is it's not about you at all. It's about someone else completely. And all this coming from a woman who didn't ever even think about becoming a mother.

Happy Mother's Day to all you moms (most especially to my mom)!