A friend of mine linked to this article on facebook.
As I read I wondered how I really feel about being a parent. I decided that parenting makes me happy.
Yes, parenting is hard. There are sleepless nights with infants and tantrums with toddlers. There is juggling the schedules and activities of school-aged kids, along with caring for our home. And I am only entering the tween years. I am sure there is more hard stuff to come.
Yes, being a mom has brought worries. Is this cough something serious? Are my children eating enough? What if Michael has an allergic reaction at school and I am not there to help and comfort? Will my kids do what they have been taught? Will they be safe?
Yes, being a mom sometimes is stressful. This week, in addition to the usual homework and piano, we have activity days for Liz, Pack meeting for Nathan, 3 trips to Provo to get Megan at school and two birthday parties with two different cakes. (I admit a lot of the stress I feel throughout the year is brought on by myself. I want to make birthdays and holidays special, even if that means extra stress-adding work like cake decorating and sewing projects that I really don't know how to do as well as I would like.)
But despite all of this, some of my greatest joys have come from being a mother. I wish I was more gifted with words so I could describe it better, but there is nothing like hearing your baby say, "Mama." There is nothing like watching your child learn something new and show it off with a huge grin. There is nothing like watching your child work hard and then succeed, and to see the joy and pride they feel in their accomplishment. There is nothing like watching your child have fun and find joy in the little things they experience in life. There is nothing like getting hugs and kisses.
There is nothing like seeing your child make good decisions like choosing to be baptized, or hearing them share a scripture story. There is nothing like watching their happiness as they serve others, at home or abroad. And there is nothing like hearing them bear their testimony and feeling the powerful Spirit that comes from them knowing and believing what they are saying is true.
In short, all of the good definitely outweighs the bad.
In the Book of Mormon, 2 Nephi chapter 2 specifically, we learn about the necessity of opposition. We cannot understand the good unless we have experienced the bad. We cannot understand joy if we have not had sadness.
So, while the article above quotes studies that say that people with children feel more negative emotions like worry or sadness, I know that for me these times have better helped me to recognize and feel the joy that comes from being a mom. I am grateful for the role of mothers in our Heavenly Father's plan for his children* and I am thankful for my part in that plan. It was ten years ago this week that I became a mother, and I am grateful that I can be one for the rest of this life and the rest of eternity.
Above: April 2006
Below: September 2010
I love these kids!
2 comments:
I loved this post Jen. I can admit that some pretty miserable moments have come from being a mom and I feel guilty for ever feeling like that. Being a mom is most definitely the hardest thing I will ever do in my life... and because it is so hard, and miserable at times, it IS the most rewarding! I loved that you brought up opposition in all things. That gives such a great perspective to what motherhood is. Thanks :-)
I loved this post Jen. I can admit that some pretty miserable moments have come from being a mom and I feel guilty for ever feeling like that. Being a mom is most definitely the hardest thing I will ever do in my life... and because it is so hard, and miserable at times, it IS the most rewarding! I loved that you brought up opposition in all things. That gives such a great perspective to what motherhood is. Thanks :-)
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