Redeeming Motherhood

*Note* THANK YOU for your kind words and prayers for my Poppy.  I will keep you updated on his condition from here... I wrote the post below about two weeks ago, so the timing of it is a little off; but, I still want to share and focus on the really good things in my life even when one thing feels really hard.  Thanks for riding the roller-coaster with me!


I try not to be that mom.  You know, the one that brags incessantly about her kid and thinks he's cuter/smarter/funnier than everyone else's (eventhoughhekindais).   That mom is alittlebit annoying, so I try to be the "my house is a train wreck, my kid loves french fries and watches Toy Story every day" kind-of mom instead.  Which, if I'm being honest, really isn't the whole truth either...

If you don't mind, I'm going to give myself a little free pass today, OK?  (Actually, I'm still going to do it even if you do mind... You just might want to come back another day.)  Today, I'm going to brag.

My kid is pretty amazing. 

Sure, his hair is just awful - It is so fine and, yet, frizzy at the same time - which, who even knew was possible - and it has a million different parts and cowlicks (please Lord let this work itself out), but he completely rocks it and is, seriously, the most adorable thing ever. I joke that he is proof that cute clothes and a dimpled smile can totally make up for a big bald head (also, a great personality - duh)... He'll probably hate that joke one day, but at least he will know I tell it like it is.

Speaking of smiles, he smiles ALL the time, and says "HI" obnoxiously loud every single time he walks into a room.  The kid has never met a stranger.

He loves dinosaurs and race cars and likes to determine which one is the "momma," the "daddy," and the "baby."  He's also really into drawing family portraits on his Magna Doodle which consist of three straight lines with dots for eyes on each side.  #onlycutetoamom #weareworkingonheads

When he wakes up - in the morning, after a nap - he announces his presences by calling "hello people" at the top of his lungs until someone acknowledges him.

He knows his whole name and that Daddy's "real name" is Jeff; but says my "real name" is Momma, which - not so secretly - I'm pretty proud of.

Of course, one night last week, Sam was downstairs, and I kept calling to him to come upstairs for bed.  I started counting to three (that usually works) and could hear his little feet hurrying up the stairs.  When I got to 2.5 (I know) he yelled out "cooooomiiiiing Mom!"  Ahh.

He kisses on the lips - which I always thought was weird until I had my own kid - and gives the BEST bear hugs.

He can count (mostly in order) up to ten and can tell you how old he is if you ask (although he will show you three fingers instead of two).

He tells knock-knock jokes and cracks himself (and us) up regularly.  He's also really into "sneaking." (He's not very good at it though.)

And, a few nights ago before bed, he sat on the floor and "read' his Storybook Bible to us by repeating "God... loves... us" over and over for each page.  In case you were wondering, yes, I died right there on the bedroom rug.

He is smart and confident and brave and kind.  His heart is wild and adventurous, but gentle and loving.  He is, in short, everything I could ever have asked for in a little person and SO MUCH MORE.  

If I could find a way to bottle this Sam up and bathe him in it when he is 15, I would be ALL OVER IT.

So, yea, we're in a pretty great spot lately.  Sure, last night this same kid pointed to a little pimple on my chin and said "ball... chin" (#negativesideoftalking), the laundry is never caught up, and I have infinitely more gray hair and wrinkles than I did three years ago; but, it is good. I'm not going to try to convince you that motherhood is really hard right now; because, frankly, it's not.

BUT...

Can I be real for a second?

We've survived colic, more than a year of not sleeping, a dozen plus ear infections, a language delay*, and just - in general - a pretty hard adjustment to parenthood.... And, sometimes, I admit, it feels like we kind-of deserve this stage, because it hasn't always been this easy...  Jeff and I needed this stage to, in a sense, redeem parenthood.  To remind us that - though we are FAR from perfect parents - we are the parents Sam needs; and, frankly, we've done OK so far.  We are making it.

Today, I'm talking about one of the harder seasons I've had as a mom over at Life Blessons as part of a series on Redeeming Motherhood.  Yes, it's easier to look back and find redemption from a situation once you have already walked through it; but, I think even when you are IN IT, there is still a lot of hope to be found in knowing that others have been there (and survived) before you.  If you aren't in an easy place right now... I GET IT.  May I invite you to join me over there?

It's up now!  Read it right here.

*I fully realize that the "struggles" I've had with motherhood are NOTHING in comparison to what some parents have to deal with.  I also know that not every one's season lasts such a short amount of time and has a "sweet" season to follow it.  I don't want to play the compare game... This is just my story and my experience.  That's all.