Being a Mom

KarenMEG over at A Day in the Life was tagged for this meme, which got me thinking. It was started by Her Bad Mother, who wants to know about 5 things you love about being a mom, at the same time acknowledging that it’s not all buttercups and milkshakes. That many of us feel ambivalent about the day to day frustrations in parenting, while at the same time deeply understanding the gifts that it bestows upon us.

Like KarenMEG, and I suspect many parents, I am much more interested in my own child than in yours. Sorry, it’s just true. I wasn’t really interested in kids before I had Maya, except that I desperately wanted one of my own. Sort of like a southern belle in Gone With The Wind, working so very hard to land a husband and get married, without any real understanding of what marriage means.

Examples of the struggles of my parenthood can be found here on my blog. Like here, where I lost my temper and scared her, because she thought I was going to hit her. Others occurred before I started blogging, like her 5 months of colic. The teething. The missing out on movies because getting a babysitter can be a pain in the butt. The changes to marriage, some good, some not.

But the joys of being a mom overwhelm the frustrations. I could probably write a book on things I love about being a mom. Or, at least, about being Maya’s mom. I’ve never been mom to anyone else, so I can’t speak to that.

1. I loved the days when she was a baby, and we would bring her into our bed with us in the mornings on weekends, in order to get a few more hours of sleep.  Such a sweet, simple time.
2. I loved when she got old enough to come downstairs and make herself breakfast and watch TV by herself, allowing us to sleep in longer.  At the same time, I missed those weekend morning cuddles.
3. I love that even now, once in a while, she will come and give us a cuddle.  Much less often with a 13 year old, but so sweet nonetheless.
4. I love how she and Ted laugh at something wicked, something that would probably not occur to me and my rather dry sense of humor, but that makes us all laugh nonetheless.
5. I love watching her learn about the world.  The stars, the ocean, all of it.  Sometimes it’s hard, as she gets older, and learns about the cruelty found every day, the absolute horrors.  But the absolute beauties are fun to discover with her.

I’m supposed to tag five other moms, and we’re supposed to see if this little meme can travel the world in 80 clicks. I’m going to take a more organic approach, and say, if you would like to participate, tell what you love about being a mom (or dad!), and go tell Her Bad Mother, as they are tracking the geographic progress of this meme. Especially go tell them if you’re participating, and you don’t live in the United States or Canada.