Categories
Fulfillment

You are meant to be a mother

stepping_stonesWe may all have come to motherhood differently, with different expectations, for different reasons. But on the really bad days—the ones that start at 6 AM, after the kids have gotten me out of bed ten times (no exaggerating) during the night, where my patience is threadbare before both children have finished breakfast—in my heart of hearts, I’m afraid that I’m one of those people who should never be a mother.

Really, I know that’s not true. I know that this is what I’m supposed to do, and I’ve always known it. At my high school graduation, they had us fill out a slip of paper with our top three career choices. I put down writer and, after some thought, mother.

As I recall, I couldn’t think of a third.

But even if motherhood hasn’t been the destination you’ve envisioned since high school, you are meant to be a mother. If your arms have ever hungered for a child—if you’ve ever struggled with your children all day, only to miss them the minute they’re asleep—if you’ve ever marveled that this perfect little person, this growing, intelligent, sweet, forgiving child, could be yours—

If you have ever loved your child—

You are meant to be a mother.

Categories
Fulfillment Faith

Being a mother is important

Okay, I know, it’s kind of a “duh.” I mean, without our mothers, where would any of us be? Not here, I’ll tell you that 😉 .

july-2008-rebecca-hospital-012smallbw
My mother on Rebecca’s birthday

But other than that whole biological necessity thing, mothers are important—and not just to make sure that everyone is fed, rested, at school on time, and not without clean underwear.

In a couple minutes, I found a number of scientific studies confirming just how influential mothers are:

It’s easy to look around at the mountain of laundry, the mound of dirty dishes, the teenager’s filthy room we told her to clean fifteen times, the full plate of food the toddler refused to eat, and the grade schooler’s last-minute order of three dozen cupcakes for a class party tomorrow and feel like we’re not important—as if we don’t matter. Yes, being a mother does involve a lot—a lot—of grunt work.

stepping_stonesBut every once in a while, at least, we need to remember that motherhood is more than chores.

Motherhood is eternally important.

Motherhood is important because being a mother means teaching and guiding future generations. We do make a difference—they do understand and internalize the principles we try so hard to teach them—and they will be better for our efforts.

Why do you think being a mother is important?

Categories
Fulfillment

How to be fulfilled as a mother

I’ve been a mom for over three years now and a mom blogger for almost that long—and pretty much the whole time, I’ve been thinking about and working toward finding (building) personal fulfillment as a mother. So far, however, my blogging on the subject has been as piecemeal as my personal efforts.

stepping_stonesBut more and more recently I’ve been thinking about finding a real “path” to fulfillment, a process that works for more people than just me. So as I’ve thought about this, I’ve come up with a few “real” steps:

Not every step will apply to every one, of course, and they’re not in any particular order. But I think that some/most/all of these things can help all of us progress to feeling more valued as a mother, and possibly more connected to one another.

I’ll be writing on these topics in the coming weeks. If you have any other ideas or ideas relating to the steps described here, feel free to leave them in the comments or send them to blog (at) mamablogga.com .

Coming tomorrow: the 7 Best MamaBlogga Blogging Tips Ever!