Tuesday 1 May 2012

Things I Love About Being a Mom

What’s not to love about being a mom?  Ok, so those diapers can be pretty nasty and I don’t get to spend as much time in my bed as I would like, but what is that compared to unlimited cuddling, sticky baby kisses and mommy parking spaces?  I rest my case.  Plus, as mom’s we even have our own holiday!  How cool is that? 

In honor of this upcoming celebration of our fertility I thought I would share with you some of the less obvious benefits of motherhood.  While the awesomeness of new baby smell and advanced boarding on airplanes are fairly highly celebrated mom-bonuses, there are other advantages of being a mom that are often overlooked. So as you plan out your menu for breakfast in bed and try to find space in your scrapbooks for the kiddie art work you are sure to be receiving shortly, take a moment to reflect on these, and all the other, awesome things about being a mom:


Regressing
Once in a while it is really nice to take a break from being an adult and just act like a kid.  You know, forget about your credit card bill and play on the swings at the park.  Screw the grass stains and just roll down the hill.  Leave the dirty dishes on the table and go play hide and seek.  Yet if you don’t have kids and do these things on your own, people think you are crazy.  So how awesome is it that, as a mom you have carte blanche to act like a kid whenever the mood strikes you?   Suddenly amusement parks become much more fun, at Halloween you have an excuse to dress up and trick or treat again, and at parades you get to pick up the candy thrown your way (for your kid of course).  It’s the best of both worlds – all the fun of being a kid without the early bed time.  Being a mom rocks!
 
Learning

Being a mom is like taking a crash course in, well, everything.  From learning new languages (baby talk counts as a language right?) to learning how to get a ketchup stain out of white carpet, everyday is an adventure.  Our kids constantly challenge us to be the best we can be, whether they are trying our patience by taking 40 minutes to eat their dinner, or teaching us generosity by asking us to share the last brownie.  But above all they teach us what love really is – getting up at 3am to sooth a crying baby when you only went to sleep at 1:30, spending 3 hours searching for a missing blankie without complaint, and holding someone’s hand while they have a poop.  This is my favourite part of being a mom – no, not the holding hand while they poop part – the part where our kids teach us what love really is.  It is through being a mom that I have learned to be more compassionate, more patient, and more kind then I ever knew I could be.  That, and I learned that I am a halfway decent blog writer.  Who knew?
 
Camaraderie
From the moment your belly starts announcing to the world that you are preggers you automatically become a part of this amazing network of moms.  No matter where you are or what you are doing, other moms will have your back.  Have a cranky baby on an airplane?  The mom behind you plays peek-a-boo with your little one to try and help out.  Waiting longer than expected at the doctor’s office?  A fellow mom shares her snack of goldfish crackers and apple slices to keep your little one happy.  Bored with watching your kid go up and down the same slide five million times at the park?  Strike up a conversation with a fellow mom about the best time to start potty training and you have a new best friend.  My point is, as a mom you are never alone.  Not because you have a two year old permanently attached to your hip, but because there are millions of other moms out there going through exactly the same thing as you.  Ok, maybe not exactly, but pretty close.  We are all in this together ladies, so when you see me give you the smile-with-a-head-nod in the parking lot of the grocery store when you are wheeling out your load of groceries in ridiculous car-shaped shopping cart, know that I am saying “I know what you are going through – stay strong, and be proud because you are a mom, and moms rule!”

-Wendy