 |
| "Even though I didn't have kids... I was a child expert!" |
The Dreamer
During this idealistic Season of Life, I had been married for about two years, and wasn't ready for kids. I wanted to spend more time "getting to know" my husband. There's nothing wrong with that mindset, except when it came to my unrealistic parenting views. Even though I didn't have kids, I knew that I wanted them one day. At this point, I had helped babysit my share of children over the span of my young life, so as far as I was concerned, I was a child expert! In fact, when I was out and about in various environments (grocery stores, restaurants, and I admit, even church), I would study adults who were parents. If I saw a child having tantrums, meltdowns, or being too loud, I would judge those parents in my mind. I admit that on countless occasions, my husband and I would look at each other and comment, "When we have kids, we're going to do things differently." Or, "Look at them. They don't have it together. Our kids are going to be different!" What I realize now is that I was naïve and more judgmental than I should have been.
The Babymooner
 |
| "I was just happy to be a mom." |
Being a new mom marked this Season of Life. After a horrible tragedy occurred with my first-born child, I was fortunate enough to get pregnant again. My second child was my beautiful boy, Jacob. I was so thrilled to get to raise a healthy, wonderful baby that it didn’t matter to me how little sleep I got. My tank was running on empty the entire first year, yet I tried not to complain. I was just happy to be a mom. But I was scared at the same time. I would read parenting books and spend every chance I got trying to help my baby grow – healthy food choices, classical music at bedtime, and lots of pictures of milestones.
 |
| Culturally enriching play dates were hand-selected. |
The Visionary
This is the Season of Life in which I became a planner. As a mom of a preschooler, I was determined to give Jacob the best of every opportunity in life. (I mentioned this briefly when I introduced him in my Meet My Crew post.) I envisioned Jacob getting the best preschool education and having the most fun childhood. In the Visionary Mom Stage, I could be at every event, both big and small, in my child’s life. Everything was precisely planned, even down to the carefully hand-selected friends and culturally enriching play dates.
 |
| awaiting the wonderful addition |
The Naive Adventurer
The endless sleepless nights and disgusting diaper smells were long forgotten. This is the Season of Life where I decided to have another child. I use the term naive because in my life, everyone I had ever met told me, “The second kid is always easier!” I probably heard that a hundred times. Ok, more like 36. But still, each time I heard it, I was getting more and more excited about adding onto my family. Jude was that wonderful addition.
 |
| Currently, life is a balancing act! |
The Juggler
Even though this is not the final Motherhood Season of Life, this is where I’m going to stop because it’s where I find myself now. I feel as though I’m always on-the-go. For me personally, juggling two kids has been so much more difficult than I anticipated. I realize there are days that I cannot give both boys the amount of attention and quality time they need. It’s hard to balance a career and motherhood. At the end of the long day at work, there are so many times I want to just crash and unwind my own introverted way, but I can’t. I have two young kiddos depending on me. But no matter how busy and stressed I feel, I repeat my mantra, “This is just the Season of Life. This too shall pass.”
No comments:
Post a Comment