Before I was a mom...

Mama Kat over at Mama's Losin' It  had so many great prompts for her Writer's Workshop this week that I decided to do two, 30 things I plan to do this summer  and before I was a mom.

Before I was a mom,

 I...

~was a heavy sleeper~

~didn't spend much time worrying about the national debt or carbon footprints or crazy psychopath perverts who may be lurking behind the bushes~

~drove a red Mustang~

~spent a lot of time on my hair and nails~

~had no idea how relieved one could feel over the cool forehead of a child who'd been running a high fever~

~did not know all the words to Goodnight Moon or I Love You This Much or The Runaway Bunny~

~had never looked into the face of another person and saw so much of myself there~

~ didn't know how good it could feel to watch a child get a good hit in baseball or make a great play in football or soccer...

 or how a heart could swell with pride and joy when that child made a good grade in school or learned to ride his bike or tie his shoes or swim or use the big potty~

~never saw myself being a stay home mom~

~never knew how much parents saw their children and their behaviors as direct reflections of themselves and how much they felt overly responsible for all their less-than-perfect actions~

~how good it could feel to hold a sleeping baby on your chest or how rewarding it could feel to watch a baby grow and thrive on milk that your very own body made~  

~thought I would never yell at my kids in anger~

~ had never heard myself say,

 "when I was your age..."

or

"you better watch your mouth"

or

"because I said so, that's why!"

~did not know how sleep deprivation really felt

or how sanity could often depend on finding that lost pacifier or Curious George stuffed animal~

~never found old french fries in my car or curdled milk or sour juice on night stands or in sippy cups under the bed~

~did not have a stinkin' clue how much little boys LOVE to pee outside!~

~underestimated the madness and stress that being a mother entails~

~underestimated the depths of a mother's love
and the way her children's smiles and laughter can fill her soul with overwhelming joy and gladness~



The moment a child is born, the mother is also born. She never existed before. The woman existed, but the mother, never. A mother is something absolutely new. ~Rajneesh