A Letter to Moms of Littles

Dear moms of little ones,

I remember the stage of life you're in.  You're deep in the trenches of motherhood and it's not always pretty. Nights are short, days are long, and sometimes it's really, really hard.

And then a well-meaning older mom tells you something like this:

"It goes by so fast!  Enjoy every moment! Soak it all up!"

And you want to punch her in the face.

Because you're thinking - how do I enjoy it more?  Everyone says these days go by quickly, and I see that they are, but seriously, is there something more I can be doing?

The answer is no.

Mammas, you ARE soaking up every moment.

You're taking in every breath of sweet baby scent, feeling almost light-headed with love for your child.

You're soaking up your child's first words, first steps, first bike ride, first day of school.

You're cherishing the cuddles with your little one and saying bedtime prayers, listening to her voice sweetly talking to Jesus.

You're listening with super human patience as your child learns to read, even when one page takes an eternity to get through.

You're there with kisses for every owie, hurt feeling, and disappointing moment.

And yes, you're soaking in even those horrible, soul-sucking moments, when you're sleep-deprived, elbow deep in poop, with a child crying, and another child feeding the dog yesterday's leftovers.

You're taking it all in and treasuring it, each moment in its own way.  The spectacular, joyful, glorious moments as well as the mundane, tedious, heart-wrenching ones.

Motherhood is an all in sort of vocation.  You create a little life, (a entire person!) and your world turns upside down.  Suddenly this little one is everything.  But it's not always easy, and you wish time away, just when everyone is reminding  you to soak it all in.  

Mammas, hear me:  you are soaking it all in. The good, the bad, the ugly -- these are what you will look back on fondly.  And time has a way of making even those terrible, awful, no-good moments look appealing in hindsight.

So don't let anyone make you feel like you're doing it wrong, or wishing it away, or not enjoying it enough. There will be moments that are not all that pleasant, but you're still present and mothering through it, and that's it's own form of enjoyment and fulfillment.

Keep soaking in every moment, mammas.  Motherhood is your calling.

Love,

A mom of older ones