27 February 2009

A little warning would have been nice!

"The world is full of women blindsided by the unceasing demands of motherhood, still flabbergasted by how a job can be terrific and torcherous."

Anna Quindlen


Mothers everywhere, who are under the impression that things will get easier when:

a) your child sleeps through the night
b) your child can walk by him/herself
c) your child can feed himself
d)your child is potty trained
e)your child is in preschool
f) you child is in Kindergarten
g) your child has a hobby
h) your child can do homework on his/her own
i) your child is old enough to help out

I am here to burst your bubble. Lol. Motherhood gets easier in some regards and more difficult in others. It gets busier (chaffeur, anyone?), and dirtier (always have wet wipes with you, even for the 9 year old!), and crazier (starting with me). And I for one, 4 children later, am just as tired as ever. But I truly was among those that thought my reprieve would come as I checked each item off my to do list. That list just gets longer and longer, my friends.

So yeah, we may never escape chaos, but there is joy amidst that chaos. I think we become better at our calling as we go along... more efficient, more organized, more REALISTIC. With that comes confidence, and the ease to enjoy motherhood. Hence, we tend to laugh at ourselves more easily when we, say, try to put socks on our kid's hands instead of their feet. :)

So I'm here to set the record straight, it woulda been nice for somebody to have done so for me... The next time somebody catches you in a fluster and pauses to tell you "It gets easier, dear...", you may look back at them with an all knowing eye and be not deceived. Because they're not saying that your burden becomes any lighter, they're just saying that you learn to adapt.

Just one more reason to keep on keepin' on...

11 comments:

Lara Neves said...

Ha ha! It's true....and yet, it still is such a relatively short time of life. I'm really trying to enjoy it as much as possible.

Christy said...

*POP*

That was the sound of my bubble bursting.

:)

Kayris said...

In some ways, it does get easier, but then it's replaced by something that gets harder. It was easier to get a decent night's rest when my infant stopped needing to breastfeed every 27 minutes, but she's been replaced with a 2 year old that screams if she can't find her baby doll.

An Ordinary Mom said...

Did you have to burst my bubble ;)?!?

Mary said...

do you care if i share this with others on a mom blog?

Lei said...

No problem Mary! :)

Char @ Crap I've Made said...

SO true! I remember when I only had 2 tiny babies and I thought that as soon as they were both in school I'd be bored out of my mind and back in school or back to work myself. Ha!

Unknown said...

Just one more reason, indeed. For me, motherhood has gotten much easier as my kids get older. Sure, there are still challenges and I'm super busy but those early days were tough on me. So glad to have vibrant, healthy little personalities to play with every day!

Yvonne said...

Oh and when they hit those teenage years and first start driving, dating, and everything else.

But, IT'S ALL WORTH IT.

Walker family said...

Thanks, Lei! And I will definitely be thinking of you for another craft session! :-)

Christina said...

Well said!! I could not agree more...now that Alicia is 14 (!!) we are faced with a whole new set of challenges just as trying as a newborn reflux-y baby who cries 7 hours a day....they are just different!!