All my life I knew I would have children.When the time came, I took the birthing classes and studied the manuals diligently; researched and followed along on BabyCenter.com; read What to Expect When You’re Expecting; and compared notes with a friend who was due the same week as me.
I was all set for labor and delivery.
But…
I was totally unprepared for everything that would happen after I came home from the hospital.
No amount of reading or talking to family or friends could have prepared me for becoming a mother. You just don’t know what you don’t know.
I imagined I would be the same old me, doing the same old stuff, just add a baby. Uhm, no. I barely remembered the same old me and had no time to entertain the same old stuff. My life changed overnight.
I had begun my MotherMorphosis, an intense period of personal, professional, emotional, spiritual, and of course physical change.I remember three things about my son’s first well baby visit at the pediatrician.
- the scheduler telling me I was brave because I agreed to the 7:00 a.m. slot (I assumed it would be better to get it taken care of before work)
- the side eye from the nurse when I bonked my baby’s head on the infant scale (as if I didn’t already feel bad enough that it made him cry)
- realizing the pediatrician wasn’t asking about my symptoms or issues: it was all about the baby
Indeed, it is all about the baby.
Since becoming a mother, my children have become my “why.” They are the reason I get up in the morning (often too early), the reason I go to work every day, the reason I do almost everything I do. They are my motivation, my inspiration, and my revelation: it is because of them that I know the true love of God. I imagine the love I have for them is just like the love that God has for me.
Note: My facebook page about MotherMorphosis is here.
