Oct 1, 2008

What they never told me

...about being a mom. Where do I begin?!?! So much about life changes once one becomes a parent. Not only is a baby born, but a mother, a nurturer, a caretaker. My heart has grown a million sizes to create wide, open space for my love for Wilder. There's nothing I wouldn't do for him. And while parenting requires patience, sacrifice, practice, a willingness to state, "I just don't know what to do!", and all kinds of other things we often don't know if we have the capacity for, every moment is worth it.

Things I now notice/use/pay attention to:

-the mother toting along two children (TWO! how does anyone do it?) at Target. I want to give her a standing ovation, then a gift certificate for a luxurious massage

-diaper commercials

-gas relief drops

-"There was a farmer who had a dog, and Bingo was his name, oh! B-I-N-G-O, B-I-N-G-O...."

-the glory of a spit-up free shirt

-loud noises, like the trash truck and road construction (too loud for babies' ears)

-the powdery smell of anything Johnson's

-how 20 minutes with Shawn at Dillon's can be a hot date

-the feat that is a dedicated phone conversation

How proud I never knew I'd be to be a mom.

4 comments:

Amy said...

Great post! It's amazing the change that takes place, huh? These are some great ones!

Ashli said...

It has been such a pleasure watching you develop into a beautiful "mommy" and see your life AND priorities re-align. It is amazing to watch you guys take the first tentative steps into parenthood...and do a such a marvelous job! It gives me hope that one day I might be able to do it too...maybe. Sooo much hard work involved :)
Don't be so hard on yourself; it is the mistakes that we make and learn from that give us the character to succeed.
Children don't need their parents to be perfect; in fact, they should know that even though we have to hold ourselves to a high standard, we must also extend grace, even (and sometimes the most difficult) to ourselves for failings.
It is so beautiful to see the connection that Wilder has with both of you; you can almost visibly see the ties of love and grace and selflessness and need that bind you all together.
I love that I got to spend time with you at this momentous point in your life; I don't know very many people that have friends stretching back to toddlerhood with a lifetime of love and support in between. So special!
You are truly my sister and thus Wilder as an extension of you feels like family to me. And I am going to have a hard time not spoiling him from afar. Speaking of...my mom and I picked him up a little something from an adorable little shop. You are going to die! I still haven't bought him any britches...
Love the little tidbits and treasures...
Mwah, miss you and wish we lived next door to one another...maybe some day! (I can always dream) I have every intention of being little old ladies sitting on the front porch giggling together...
Love, love, love forever!!!!

Paula said...

Beautiful words, Mindy - sometimes, as a mother of four, life gets really crazy - I am enjoying the newness of your motherhood and stepping back to take another look at mine!

Anonymous said...

Um...tear. (I was snoopy and ready Bsh's note too)!! Sister, I love your candidacy and humor even though sometimes you don't even realize how funny your sense of humor is to me... I think it is because we were raised the same way, and have a tendency to think alike!! As Bsh said, what wonderful treasures and tidbits you leave for the rest of us to gobble up!