Being a mom is…selfless! Am I right? It’s not a complaint. It’s not an excuse. It’s a reality. As moms we typically aren’t looking for sympathy. We are just looking to be noticed. We are looking to be acknowledged. We are looking to be appreciated.
I remember when I was growing up I would thank my mom for everything she did for me and especially for being selfless. And even though I said the words I never truly knew what it meant until I became a mother myself.
Maybe you are a single mom. Maybe you are a mom with a husband that is deployed for months at a time. Maybe you are a mom married to a firefighter or a doctor that is on call and isn’t home various nights throughout the week. Or maybe you are a mom with a husband that works long hours or is constantly traveling on business trips. And maybe you are a mom with a partner that is home after work at a decent hour each night and has the desire to help as much as he can but he is tired after working a 10 hour day and surviving a 2 hour commute and just can’t do as much as he’d like to help you.
So why do us moms have grey hairs, worry lines and wrinkles, and even cry out of the blue sometimes? We worry and we are tired. We are literally weak from exhaustion. Every minute of the day we worry about the wellbeing of our children. We worry if they are healthy. We worry if they are safe. We worry if they are happy. Have they been fed? Have they drank enough water today? Did we brush their teeth? Did they take their vitamin? What craft are we going to do today? Did I spend enough time showing them how much I love them?
Our jobs don’t start at dawn and end at dusk. We work the morning shift, the afternoon shift, the night shift, and the overnight shift.
The morning shift starts as soon as our babies wake up. We work all day with barely a break long enough to visit the restroom and typically accompanied by one or all of our children. We cook for everyone but often eat last and typically take bites of our food while standing up and multitasking and working on some other chore like the dishes. The night shift starts when our children go to bed. We stay up later than everyone else in the home because that is the only time we have to get our work done. Our overnight shift starts at any given hour during the wee hours of the morning. When our babies wake up multiple times throughout the night we go feed them. When our toddlers wake up from a bad dream or need to go to the bathroom, they come to our side of the bed. Secretly we love it and wouldn’t change it for the world. We love to feel needed by our children. We love that we are the one they go to when they are sick and hurt or need to be tucked into bed with a hug and kiss. But is it a lot of work? Yes!
Being a mom is a constant juggling act! We are the ones that pack the snacks before we leave the house. We are the ones that make sure we are stocked with diapers and wipes. We are the ones that take the children to the dentist and the doctor appointments. The groceries do not just appear in the pantry from the food fairy. The dinner isn’t made by a chef. The clean clothes tucked away in our drawers aren’t folded by a laundry magician. Messes aren’t cleaned by themselves. Our responsibilities are endless. We are the glue that holds everything together. From paying the bills to managing the various components of everyday intricacies we are often the custodian, the teacher, the cook, and the principal. Are we bragging? No. We just work a lot behind the scenes and it isn’t always obvious. This is the privilege we signed up for and have no regrets, but please don’t forget to say thank you.
And even on the days that aren’t so forgiving and we are consumed with guilt because we feel like a flawed mother, our children will give us a hug unprompted and tell us what a great mommy we are and how much they love us. It’s on days like these when we walk into the room to pick up our baby from their crib and they smile from ear to ear with their arms reached high for us to pick them up. Babies’ first word is generally mommy and we know that in their eyes we are doing a great job. We are their hero and their best friend, and we know we are loved.
So for all of the other mamas out there I see you. I appreciate you and what you do. Your children love you. Today was stressful but remember tomorrow is a new day. Most of the time we are in survival mode and I understand. No shower? No problem. Didn’t get to the laundry today? That’s ok. Ordered take-out? No big deal. This time in life is challenging but every second is worth it. One day your children will take care of themselves and you will yearn for this time where you are the one taking care of them. You are raising human beings and there is no monetary value to what you do and how hard you work. You often work overtime and don’t get paid for it. You deserve a raise every month but don’t get one. And do you ask for it? Probably not. Do you complain about it? Maybe. But do you do it each and every day because you love being a mom and you wouldn’t have it any other way? Yes. And that is why our children thank us for all that we do and for being selfless.
Being a Mom is…Always Being in Love! Are you looking to show appreciation for another mom in your life or are you in need to spoil yourself a little? Author, Anna Belle, is a mom of three children and wrote this book because she was inspired by her own motherhood. She initially started writing the book for her children and it became a bigger passion project and this is the first book of a series. Her next book is set to be published in a few months.
Her new hardcover book takes you through the journey of motherhood from conception and beyond. Honestly, this book brought tears to my eyes because of the sweet sentiment and relatable messages on each page. One of my favorite pages is “Being a Mom is…Holding them Longer than They Need to Be” because each day my baby grows a day older, is a day I can’t take back, and I have been noticing myself holding him longer and longer each night before bed and hanging on to the slow moments as long as possible. Another favorite page said, “Being a Mom is…Crying on their First Day of Preschool” because my daughter starts her first day in just a few short weeks and I tear up if I think about it too long. As a mom, we often wonder how time flies, we help our children pursue their dreams, and we even learn to let go. This book portrays the lessons in motherhood that we have or will someday experience and puts motherhood in perspective. This book embodies our journey as a mother and just why we do what we do each and every day of our lives. No matter how old our children become, they will always be our babies.
This book makes an excellent gift for your own mother, a friend, sister, aunt, or grandmother for any occasion. Make it a just because gift, a birthday gift, or buy early as a stocking stuffer, Mother’s Day, or Valentine’s Day gift! To purchase your book click this link https://www.etsy.com/listing/538875113/gift-for-mom-mom-gifts-mom-birthday-baby?ref=shop_home_active_1 and to follow on Instagram click here https://www.instagram.com/mommy_author_anna_belle/ and on Facebook click here https://www.facebook.com/AuthorAnnaBelle/
And make sure you are following me on Facebook and or Instagram as I am giving ONE BOOK away to one lucky winner! In the meantime, you can also score 30% off your own copy by typing in the code INSTA30!
What does being a mom mean to you?
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