Being a Mom

So, there was a "tear-jerker" video at the church we went to on Mother's Day about "being a mom". It was pretty well done, but it did get me thinking about what being a mom meant. Of course, the video had some humorous spots like dealing with the stomach bug and kids walking in the house after curfew, but it did get me thinking about what being a mom is like.

Being a mom is when you get bad news at the ultrasound, but can't imagine yet how much your life will change. Being a mom is wiping noses and holding out your hand for your child to spit out half-chewed fruit snacks or pieces of grass. Being a mom is listening to your child scream in the car when you have another hour of driving to go and you can't fix anything.

Being a mom is letting go and holding tight. It's tears in the darkness and laughing through them the next day. Being a mom is praying for that plus sign for years, and then praying at the lawyer's office that the adoption goes through. Being a mom is changing your mind at the clinic and giving a chance at life. Being a mom is heart-wrenching and heart-opening. Being a mom is having the ultimate responsibility and nowhere near enough maturity to handle things. And sometimes, being a mom is harder than you thought, but you can't ever imagine being anything else.

You become a mom the moment you know you are pregnant, whether your baby comes to full term or not. You never stop being a mom, no matter what heartbreak you go through, there is no way to fully break that cord. No matter how hard your days or nights are, you would never trade the few minutes or decades you spend with your children for anything. And that's being a mom.


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