Being a mother changes you, in ways you never thought of.
Your priorities, your routine, your hobbies… It all changes.
Before children I never dreamed I’d be a stay-at-home mom. Even when I was pregnant, I couldn’t imagine staying home with the kids. I loved working with my middle school kids, seeing that moment when they finally “got it.” I’d get up in the morning, go to work, come home and grade papers and think up future projects.
I’d read, a lot. All kinds of books (ones without pictures) while lounging in the sun. And on the weekends my husband and I were involved in various pistol shooting competitions.
You know how women ooh and ahh when they see a newborn? Or how so many women just seem natural when it comes to getting down on the ground and playing with a young child?
I was never that woman.
Little kids? I just couldn’t connect with them.
New baby? Yeah, that’s nice.
About the time they got to middle school is when they got interesting to me.
But it all changed when they placed that 5lb. 8oz. squalling little girl on my chest.
I bawled for a week before I had to go back to work after our daughter was born. Those last few months of the school year were the longest months of my life. Suddenly, the one thing I never thought I would do was the only thing I prayed for — the chance to stay home with her.
My schedule now a days? I try to get up before the kids so I can sip my cocoa in peace and think of what fun we will have that day.
Monday? It’s swim class day. Tuesday? Story time at the library. There are play dates, picnics at the park, and trips to the zoo.
Hobbies? I can’t remember the last time I went to a pistol competition. And the only books I seem to read lately have a lot of rhymes and pictures.
And that’s okay.
It’s more than okay. It’s perfect.
Now when my husband and I go out to dinner I find myself gazing at babies and thinking back to when my own were little. If I’m out shopping I can’t walk past a child without smiling and waving.
Yes, being a mother changes every single thing in your life.
And I can not imagine my life any other way.
.
.
cindy says
My growth as a mother was very different. I was always a kid centric person. I had lots of younger cousins and siblings and growing up I was the family babysitter. I loved kids and was sure I wanted a dozen when I grew up. When I became an adult the financial reality of having to work and the physical reality of having c-sections limited me to only having two. I always filled my house with their friends as much as possible and now I have the grandkids and their friends. I have loved every stage of being a mother and grandmother and look forward to watching them grow and change at all ages 🙂
OneMommy says
I love that you are able to spend so much time with the grandkids and their friends now.
Watching them grow and change and become the people they are meant to be is amazing. 🙂
Chris Carter says
Oh this is just so beautiful… I too was not really into babies/infants/toddlers at ALL!! Isn’t it amazing how Motherhood changes you completely? Such a lovely message and precious piece Christina! 🙂
OneMommy says
You never realize just how much you can love until children, or how much you can change.
OneMommy says
Thank you so much for hosting! 🙂
OneMommy says
I am definitely a better person, too!
Hope you had a wonderful Mother’s Day!
Dawn says
Becoming a mom definitely changed me too! If you had asked me a year before having my oldest, I would have told you that I was never going to have children. It wasn’t that I didn’t like kids, it was just that I had a lot going on between working a job that I enjoyed (and putting in 12-14 hour days many times) and on 2 days a week I was going back to college to learn programming. I think too that I always worried that I wouldn’t make a good parent back then.
When I got pregnant with my oldest it was kind of planned but I originally was hoping for a little more time as I was told by the doctor it would take probably up to 2 years for me to get pregnant after being on the birth control I was on for as long as I was on it for. But it took me a month to get pregnant.
All is good and I love my kids and love being a mom. I had since given up the long days and did not end up finishing the college degree I was pursuing, but being a mom is more rewarding then the long days at the out of the home job. I wouldn’t change a thing 🙂
OneMommy says
It’s so funny how such a little person can change you so much! 🙂
Hope you had a wonderful Mother’s Day!
Kim@Co-Pilot Mom says
It really does change everything! Wonderfully so! Love the photo at the end! 🙂
OneMommy says
Thank you! I think it’s one of my favorite photos. I need to get a copy to put in a frame!
Ginny Marie says
What a sweet post! Yes, it’s true, Motherhood changes everything! I’m so grateful to be a mother. 🙂
Laurie says
Loved it! I waited for 10 long, agonizing years to become a mother after my husband and I were married. My kids are grown now, 23, 21 and 17. I was just thinking yesterday that motherhood is the most exhilerating, exhausting, frustrating, and the best thing that ever happened to me. There should be a warning when giving birth, however, The next 18 years will fly by. Embrace each moment.
OneMommy says
Yes, there should be a warning! I swear I don’t know how my oldest will be starting school this coming year!
Jennice says
Girl, I know exactly how you feel. I,was a teenage mom sobabies were NEVER on my radar. Then when my daughter was born, it’s like I put,on rose tinted glasses and my whole life became babies!!!! I,wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world,either. I’m visiting from #SITSsharefest. Have a goood weekend!
OneMommy says
Do you cry at t.v. commercials now a days like I do? The Hallmark ones with kids are the worst! 🙂 No doubt about it, wouldn’t change it for the world.
Thanks for stopping by; looking forward to visiting you!
Mariann says
Funny. I just finished preparing a post about how my motherhood has taken precedence over everything, including myself. Motherhood definitely changes you in more good ways than not!
#SITSShareFest
OneMommy says
It really does take over! 🙂
OneMommy says
It really does take over! 🙂