The getting
yourself out of bed, dragging yourself to bathroom, getting your wobbling not
yet awake legs to take you down the stairs, for hugs, sometimes tears, pouring
cereal, lunch making, coffee brewing, let’s get out the door kind of morning going. Looking
in the mirror one last time before you walk out the door and you don’t see it
anymore, it’s gone; there just isn’t any sparkle in your eyes today. It’s just
YOU, their Mom. But, it’s You, you are in there. It’s YOU giving of yourself
all the time to someone else, minute, by minute, day by day to the lives you
have created. It may not be glamorous but being their Mom is sometimes the only
thing that makes sense.
We tend to
give our children more than we had or treat them “better” than we were treated,
or take them places we always wanted to go as a child but didn’t. Society makes
us think that being a good Mom means fancy vacations, fancy toys or clothes and
the things that truly make a good Mom gets lost. It’s the simple things that really matter. It’s the daily non-glamorous tedious routines
that remind us what being a MOM is all about.
It’s the
small moments that can’t be explained or told on “Facebook". It’s about all the
things you do as a Mom that no one else can see. It’s their smile, their giggle
and they way they look at you. It’s still
feeling joy, even while going through some of your darkest days. It’s the innocence and sweetness of a 4yo when
he crawls into bed with you for snuggles and you’re still half asleep and you
feel him rub your cheek and whisper “I Love you Mommy”. It’s stopping what you
are doing to read your teenagers paper because he just finished it and he wants
to share it with you. It’s about
snuggling with a blanket in pajamas and reading to your toddler. It’s putting
your phone down and taking 20 minutes to play Candyland. It’s a hug from your
teenager without having to ask. It’s being
patient, letting things go and not sweating the small stuff. It’s just about being there doing Mom things.
You are
their Mom that’s all they know and that’s all they need to know. They
don’t see you standing there in the mirror wondering where “she” went. They don’t see you scrambling to get things
done sometimes without much help. They don’t see you rushing from work to make
sure everyone is picked up or where they need to be on time. They don’t see you checking your bank
account wondering how you’re going to play “Santa”. They don’t see you looking
at empty cupboards and wondering when you will have time to get to the grocery
store or what you’re going to piece together for dinner. They don’t see what
you go without so they have what they need. They don’t see you worrying when
they go out with friends. They don’t see your sadness when you know they are struggling.
They don’t see the extra kisses you give
them or that one last glance after they are fast asleep.
Those are
the things that really matter.
Don't try to be a SUPERMOM. Be a REAL MOM. A Mom who sometimes feels lost and is not afraid to admit it. Be a BRAVE Mom. A Mom who even when she’s tired or scared keeps fighting.
Just be their MOM!
