Dear Me,
I know you’re fantasizing about life with kids. The snuggles. The true smell of a fresh clean baby after bath time. Those adorable giggles and sweet open mouth slobbery kisses. Take it all in. Because it’s also so much more than those moments.
It’s a lot of hard work. It’s patience you never knew existed within you because you’re child is having a melt down over the crust not being cut the right way ( or is it off this week because we keep changing our minds every other second ). It’s counting to 10 to try not to argue back with your 5 year old over something so insignificant that you can’t even understand why you’re attempting to argue back in the first place.
Exhaustion hits every few hours and your husband wonders why you go to bed so early. Well- one true reason. Motherhood. It’s not the endless Netflix shows, the clean and gleaming house, the laundry put away and folded neatly because you have all the time in the world. There are small glimpses of that here and there but it’s truly just an endless cup of coffee mentality.
You have doubts every other minutes. Are you making the right choice? Are you feeding them the right food? Are you taking care of them the best you can? Did you plan enough activities for them to be exhausted by the end of the day so they’ll sleep? Are you watching too much TV because you’re trying to balance working from home, answering e-mails, planning content all while cooking ( and sometimes burning ) dinner while your children fight in the playroom over the same toy.
You learn a lot about yourself when you become a Mom. When you start to feel overwhelmed, you become panicked and judgement gets cloudy. So you call your husband to calm you down and talk it out because he’s not dealing with the tornado that’s surrounding you but can guide you out of the fog. I’m so grateful to not only having my kids help me but my incredible husband who is my right hand man. I couldn’t do it without him somedays.
It’s a one breath at a time. One moment remembering how little they were and how excited and terrified you are for their future. It’s the scariest most rewarding job out there. Within the chaos, I found myself, my role in life and the way to better myself through my kids.
I”m teaming up with a few of my other favorite bloggers to share their story about before having kids so be sure to check them out below!
Aww this is such a lovely letter to your self in the past. I can't imagine how becoming a parent can change so much about the world around you.
This is such a great letter. I've learned patience since becoming a parent. I didn't realize how slow and messy kids could be since I was an only child.
Cait, you have the most beautiful family! I am not a mum, but I have a lot of friends who are, and I see just how exhausting it can be! This was such an eye opening letter, especially for someone like me to read! Great Post!
Becoming a parent was what made my life's circle complete. It seemed to draw my loose ends together and life had a definite focus and goal.
Means you are ready to put another life before your personal needs or wants. Wouldn't change it for the world.
There's so much doubt in Motherhood! I just love your post <3
I've learned so much since becoming a parent 18 years ago. One, the house will never be clean, and that is OK. Time with them is so much more important
What a great letter to yourself Cait. We learn so much when we become parents and although at times it's hard we often wouldn't change it for anything.
I love this idea. I wish I had done something like this before I had kiddos.
The doubts can take over! It's hard to let go and trust you're doing all that you can for them.
One breath at a time. So true
This is a beautiful post. I agree that motherhood can be both challenging and rewarding. Overall it's the best & proudest job I ever had! 🙂
Aw what a precious letter to write. Motherhood is challenging even when your children are 40 years old.
Just beautiful! So much changes in motherhood!
This is such a beautiful letter. I’ve learned as a parent that raising children takes a lot of patience in learning as you go.
I love this! So cute, and definitely great points about being a mom.
Wouldn't it be great if we could go back and tell ourselves everything we needed to know?
We learn a lot about ourselves and the world through our children. Thankfully, most of it is good!
What a beautiful letter! Motherhood definitely challenges and changes you.
Aw! So cute! You have a beautiful and amazing family. Motherhood is messy and challenging, and crazy, and sleepless, and giving, and understanding. And still unbelievably beautiful. ☺
This is such a great idea for a blog post! I love reading personal posts and this one really hits home! Beautiful family!
This is so lovely and so true! It's really exhausting and difficult to have kids but always worth it.
Having a supportive and loving husband like yours makes parenting a lot easier. As I read this post, it reminds me of my own family.
This is a great personal, and heartfelt post. I love when bloggers open up and show the real!
Love this, I really enjoyed reading your post. I agree, parenting is hard and you don't realize it until you are a parent. It is definitely worth it in the end, but it does require a lot of patience and also learning as you go too.
This is such a cute post!! I like when bloggers connect!