Motherhood is a Constant Challenge
Motherhood is the toughest – longest – challenge I’ve ever faced!
Parenting or child rearing is the process of promoting and supporting the physical, emotional, social, financial, and intellectual development of a child from infancy to adulthood. Parenting refers to the aspects of raising a child aside from the biological relationship.
Between exploding diapers, tantrums, and pure exhaustion, it can be difficult for some to find the joys in parenting.
Being a stay at home mom is not my only calling, but so far it has been the only single thing I’ve “had to” stick with and I don’t find it easy at all! There are times when it feels like the most difficult thing I’ve ever done. For me, it’s a constant challenge. It has taken me until my third child to be able to truly “take it one day at a time”.
Before my children were born I never really got the chance to go “find myself”, but I also never felt like I needed to. I lived each day one at a time. I had a job and school and basic adult responsibilities, but I also just did whatever felt right at the time.
I knew I wanted to be a stay at home mom from the time I was 12 years old. My mother was home whenever I was until I was 9 and again the following year after. I remembered what it was like to always have her around and I also remembered clearly what it was like to be a daycare kid.
Before I had kids I had reached a point in thinking – why do people even have kids if only to place them in daycare for 80% of their childhood. Now, as a parent, I understand a lot more of what goes into these decisions but I still feel strongly about raising my own children.
Parenting however, is never what you imagined it would be when you were a child yourself.
Like being a Doctor or a Lawyer, being a mother has defined me and has become who I am. I don’t know who I am outside of it anymore. For me, being a mom isn’t just a title or responsibility – it’s a way of life!
Over the years I have used RPG’s, Facebook, and Netflix as distractions from the constant drain that parenting and running a household has placed on me. There were times, I’ll admit, where I have over indulged in these distractions and had to find my way back to realizing my daily “purpose”.
I still post and browse Facebok as brief escapes throughout my day, and I used to find it depressing when other moms would post images with their spotless kitchens and sparkling floors. It used to make me feel inadequate in some ways, and I always wondered what it was that was making them so much better at this!
I eventually got passed these social media postings and realized that these were simply glimpses of calm amongst the chaos. And now, I honestly find it refreshing when I see parenting articles or posts from friends about how “imperfect” their kids or lives are – because parenting is never picture perfect!
Thanks for reading! 🙂