The Hardest Job, The Greatest Joy

I love being a mother. It is without a doubt the greatest joy of my life. Raising my son, watching him grow and change and learn is a constant surprise; and a continuing pleasure.

It’s not all hearts and roses. Being a parent is tough. There are hard times and unpopular decisions and days if not weeks when you agonize over making the right choices for your child, and how the things you do will impact your child.

Every word I say, every choice I make, every place I go, every thing I do and see and allow him to do and see has the potential to affect my child either in a positive way or a negative way.

Being a mother is tough. My job is made easier because I have help, and I can’t imagine how much harder my job would be without the support of my husband. He requires obedience and respect from our son. He has made it quiet clear to Logan how Dad expects Mom to be treated, even when Dad is not around. Especially when Dad is not around. We are a team, and Logan knows it. That makes my job easier.

I also had great role models in the form of my parents when I was growing up. I’m not sure what kind of mother I would have been without the influence of my own parents, but I don’t think it would have been pretty.

I’m not really much of a nurturer by nature. I’m not a natural listener. I tend to make snap judgements. None of those things make me the mother I need to be; one that comforts and listens first and considers all the options before making a decision. I learned those skills from my parents. I learned how to be a team from them, how important it is for the spouses to respect each other and back up each other. I learned how important not only love is, but also laughter. I learned about compassion and forgiveness and a healthy dose of humor.

Being a mother is hard. Despite what the commercials would have us to believe, there is a lot more to it than just hugs and puppy dogs and jewelry and flowers. There is also tears and hurt feelings and emergency room visits in the middle of the night. There is waiting up because it’s past curfew, and worrying over that new friend that is a bad influence. There is harsh words you wish had never been spoken, and trying to patch things up again after a heart has been broken.

Being a mother is hard. But being a mother is also the best, most fulfilling, most wonderful, most precious, most awe-inspiring feeling in the universe. There is simply nothing else in the world that comes close to the feeling of wonder that comes when those little eyes look to you for answers; when that little hand reaches for yours for reassurance; when little arms wrap around your neck for a hug.

I am a lot of things. I am a wife, a sister, a daughter, a friend. To some, I may be funny or silly or even dumb and clueless. But the title I cherish most is “Mom.”