Preparation for motherhood began for me when I was a little girl. Didn't every little girl play “house"? I even remember enlisting the help of a couple of my “boyfriends" to play with me. Every doll baby needs a father, right? My desire to have a little girl only intensified as I got older, head swimming with visions of frilly dresses and adorable pink bonnets.
Being Mother to my three beautiful daughters has taught me countless lessons through the years, but it all boils down to three essential things: patience, unselfishness, and sacrifice.
Lessons on patience began early. It all started in the hospital. As a new young mother, I tried that first day to get my newborn daughter to nurse. It didn’t really seem like she was getting much because every hour or so the nurses would bring her back to try again. I patiently watched tutorials about nursing on the internal hospital channel. I listened to advice from sweet nurses as they instructed me about how best to get my baby fed. Those sweet nurses and the indispensable baby channel helped me get through my first two days as a mother.
Lessons on patience began early. It all started in the hospital. As a new young mother, I tried that first day to get my newborn daughter to nurse. It didn’t really seem like she was getting much because every hour or so the nurses would bring her back to try again. I patiently watched tutorials about nursing on the internal hospital channel. I listened to advice from sweet nurses as they instructed me about how best to get my baby fed. Those sweet nurses and the indispensable baby channel helped me get through my first two days as a mother.
Motherhood has also taught me to be unselfish. When my crying baby wakes up in the middle of the night, gassy, hungry and fussy, I must set aside my own desire to sleep and, instead, tend to the needs of my little one. Other struggles follow. Children need a mother who is able to take care of their emotional and physical needs. Often, I sacrifice things I would like to get for myself, and instead buy for my children because their need is greater.
Last, but certainly not least, I have learned there are sacrifices in motherhood that I must make because my children need me now. I decided in my late twenties, after I had given birth to my first two children, that I wanted to be a nurse. What should I do with that new-found interest? Did I want to pursue nursing school right away and perhaps miss some precious moments with my children? Or did I want to stay home with my babies and teach them everything good that I would like them to know? My decision to stay home has been the best decision I have ever made. Even though I sacrificed my education for now, I prefer to see it as a postponement. I will earn a nursing degree someday. But for now I am gaining knowledge and life experience far more valuable than a nursing degree.
I am a mother.
Image can be found at http://www.coastalartsleague/com/2005Photoshow/2005Htm/trejo2.htm
Alexes is one crazed writing fool; perhaps one day she might get paid for what she writes. She is the mother of three daughters (no sons) and you can find more about her at Cluttered Brain AND her Writer's Blog.
