Mom Love

This post will be short and sweet and it’s dedicated to all my mom friends out there.

Today, like every other alternate Wednesday morning, I gathered with a group of moms to pray.  Its a great time to share our life with each other not for the purpose of gripping or gossip but for the purpose of coming together and sharing our lives, then praying for each other.

There are some of us that come each time we meet, and sometimes there are new faces at the table.  Regardless of who is sitting by me, openly sharing, I often hear the same messages (myself included).  These messages echo the following sentiment:

I'm screwing my kids up

I'm not enough

I'm a bad mom or a bad wife


You get the picture.  I don't think that thought life is only within the women I encounter.  I think many moms (and people) out there live with a replay reel that is similar to the messages above.  Truthly, those sentences JUST AREN'T TRUE.

Truth.  Being a wife and mom is hard.  Being in a close relationship with any other person is a challenge, especially under the same roof.  We will mess up - A LOT! Its inevitable, but it doesn't mean we are screwing up our kids, and that what we offer isn't enough to make a dent for the good.  

People will always have an opinion of how we do things, but opinions aren't facts and not everyone's opinion matters.  We have to train ourselves to filter out the messages that don't come from valuable sources.  The people that speak life into your life, those people may actually have something to say, but even with that, YOU get to be you.  NO ONE ELSE ON EARTH can be you.  So fill those shoes with pride.

Seriously, you are doing a great job.  There may be areas where you can hon your skills and refine your motherhood, but go work at it knowing that all humans have work to do.  Don't let those short comings define you - its only a piece of who you are and NO ONE is perfect - no matter what their Instagram might say.

Hug another mom. Pray for her.  Listen to each other over coffee because we really just want to be heard and seen by someone else.  Let's put down our judgemental armor and pick up each other's burdens.  Give some grace to someone today because WE ALL NEED IT! I know I do.  I know that boat I'm in is probably bigger than the Titanic.  Let's not sink, okay?  Let's help each other see those ice bergs and navigate around them.  Let's share some mom love!!!

This is a later post, because well, life got a bit in the way, but Happy Wednesday, or whatever day you read this.

Adventures in Mothering - Dropping the Ball, or in my Case, the Baby

I had a heart wrenching moment just a week ago. Its taken me this long to write it down because I've been in shock. A week ago I was walking in the house with baby in car seat. I had undone the belt and was walking across the kitchen, when a little rock happened with the car seat just as Caleb jerked, and you guessed it, Caleb came tumbling out - Ahhh!!! My heart fell out of my chest and grabbed for my now crying child. I pulled him to me and ran to the chair to nurse him and hopefully bring comfort. I called the doctor to be sure he was okay, and of course he was. He did have a mark on his cheek for a few days, but the mark in my heart was much worse. I know with kids, especially boys, wounds will be inevitable, but the first time for me was traumatic. A song comes to mind - "The first cut is the deepest, baby I know..." - Cat Stevens and Sheryl Crow would be so proud.

We will be okay and hopefully it will be a long time before he incurs any other injuries, like 18 years, and hopefully it won't be because of me. A mom can dream!

The Mocker Becomes the Mocked

I used to silently mock those moms who seemed to be all about their kids. I thought to myself, "Don't you have a life or any interests outside of your kids?" Then I had my lil man 5 months ago.

If you were to read my facebook status or see the pictures I post, you would notice they are all about him. Sure I still go to work (almost) everyday, and I still talk to my friends, but my life is now all about him. I love what each new second brings. I love seeing what he's doing different today than what he did yesterday.

I don't seem to notice that I haven't shaved my legs in a week or that I have spit up on my shirt. Yes, I do need a break now and then and thank my sweet husband and fabulous friends and family for coming to the rescue when I need them, but the things that used to matter just don't anymore or at least not to the level they once did.

So label me the obsessed mommy because that is what I am.

The Ones We Love

This morning I got a waking call from my sister in Ohio. She called to inform me my mom had been in a car accident. A 17 year old girl had run a red light and hit my mom, totaling her car and sending my mom in an ambulance to the hospital. With my mom's neck and back trouble and past neck surgeries, we were concerned the screws in her neck would come out or that some damage would be done to her spine. I am on the other end of the country and I was worried. I hated that I couldn't rush to the hospital to check on my mom. I had no knowledge of the severity and was scared by the unknown. I was comforted by prayer and the knowledge that God is in control, but still hating the silence and lack of control on my end.

I was reminded by the situation about the importance of relationships and how we should not take each other for granted. I was reminded that we must be communicating love to each other and work out all our fights with friends and family, because we never know what will happen tomorrow. I was glad as I waited for a report that I had just returned from a love-filled visit with my mom and family, because in that moment I wanted my mom to know she was loved.

An hour later I received a positive report - the screws in my mom's neck were still in tact and the damage to her back was not permanent, and the only other damage was to her teeth - easily fixed. Praise God.