Everyone is so ready to warn you about the downfalls of motherhood. From the disasters that can occur during childbirth, to the moments of conflicts with a stubborn teenager, everyone has something negative to say about every stage.
Even before I became a mom, during my first pregnancy, I continuously got comments about how I would never sleep again, or wear my pre-pregnancy clothes. I heard comments about my body being sprinkled with stretch marks and facing the painful first days of nursing.
And as time has gone on, the comments have too. I’ve been welcomed to the terrible twos and warned about having a threenager. I hear complaints on how it’s hard to get stuff done or to find alone time. And while I agree that motherhood certainly has its share of hardships, I’m surprised that nobody warned me about the most important part.
Camden and Eli.
I was never warned about how much I would love my children. How the seed of that love is planted at their birth and grows so big it overwhelms my heart and soul. That when I look at their sweet faces, I feel that I am looking at my world in its entirety. That having them is like having a little piece of my heart that is now separate from my body, but still very much a part of me. How, for the first time in my life, I feel the weight of the responsibility that these little lives literally depend on me for survival. I am forever changed by my role as a mother. Changed for the better. Changed to understand and value the precious gift of life. That suddenly, all of the material things I could ever have or want seem incomparable to my bond with my children. And no one warned me about that. So I’m here to tell you, to warn you, that when you become a mother you will be changed. Changed by a love you didn’t know could exist. It’s the most powerful feeling you’ll ever have. And it’s pretty darn cool.
Baby Eli. Photo by DeAnna Adele
(First photo in post Baby Camden. Photo Taken by Madelyn Wayment )
