Just a Mom. . .

So many times I hear these words: You're Just A Mom. And a lot of those times it comes from someone who isn't a parent. Just a mom, huh? Well let's look into what being "just a mom" is.


1. You carried your children for 9 months.
     

38 Weeks

  I wasn't the only person who made my children, but I was the carrier, their life line for the time they were inside me. I took on the hardship of weight gain, morning sickness, vomiting, and every other ugly thing that sometimes accompanies pregnancies. I did it, and I would do it again in a heart beat to see them take their first breath, to hear their first cries, and to see the immeasurable amount of love being released from their Daddy when he saw them for the first time. NOTHING, and I mean NOTHING can ever replace those feelings.

          Labor and delivery isn't something to take lightly. It's painful, it's a transformation, and you are giving something that is beyond words. But, I'm just a Mom.


2. You are the soul source of nutrition. 

First latch 8/12/13

Yes, I CHOSE to breastfeed my children. Yes, I asked for every bit of frustration. But, I am their mother, the one who carried them, and it is my duty as their mother to provide their nutrition now that they live outside of me. Pain, sheer pain, the first couple of weeks; cracked and bleeding nipples, breasts so sore even the shower water hurts, and copious amounts of tears 

There are times when it's not so glamorous to nurse your children. People look at you like you're a weirdo, or like you are doing something wrong.  But, I'm just a Mom. 

3. Sleepless nights.
          Enough said on this one, right? No one understands how difficult getting up in the middle of the night for the fourth time really is. Or, when baby is sick, sometimes every single hour. Luxury of a full nights sleep is lost on those who are getting it. Sometimes, as a mom, you may not see a full nights sleep for many moons. But, I'm just a Mom.

4. You are their doctor, chauffeur, and teacher. 

Their first meeting! My babies!

          I know this is talked about so many many times, but really think about this. For five years, you are their teacher. They rely on you to learn how to talk, walk, crawl, spell, animals and the sounds they make, etc. You, not their Grandparents, aunts or uncles. YOU, their mother (or father).
          Oh, and let's not forget that until they are old enough to drive themselves, you do that for them. Ball games, tutoring, school functions, sleep overs, and the like, that's all on you.   There isn't any one else they rely on for these things, until they're old enough that maybe you may have one of their friends' parents offer to give them a lift.
         Let's play doctor or nurse. Every bump, scrape, and bruise is yours for the diagnosis. You are the one whom they look too for explanation that, "No, it's not bad enough to go to the emergency room." You are that person until they move out, and sometimes, even after that they still call you! But, I'm just a Mom.

My son, 9 years ago!

5. Bad dreams at night, Mommy the shrink.
          That's you. their therapist. For ever dream they need interpreted, for every friend that doesn't want to be friends anymore, and when their significant other breaks up with them. You are the one that deals with it. Until the day they realize, you might not know as much as they thought, then they don't speak to you at all about those things! But, I'm just a Mom.

6. You are the one who always has their back--No matter what!

Sibling bonds!!!

          It's like an unspoken promise when you become a mother, that no matter what, you'll protect them. You protected them for the time they grew inside you, kept them safe and in your arms as a baby, and now that they are independent you still must have their back. No one else will be in their corner like a Mom will. No one will help them up and brush them off like a mom. It's a need, a constant urge, to protect them from everything. You are their body guard, their secret service. . . Just you alone, save maybe their Dad. But, hey, I'm just a Mom.

September 2013

This list goes on and on. And I in now way am negating the role their father plays! He is so important! I'm a Mom, so I'm speaking from my point of view. There are so many people out there who forget how important parents are in the lives of their children. So many times, you take for granted everything that was done for you! You wouldn't be where you are, without your parents, especially your mother.

Before you say to someone, "You're just a Mom," remember what all goes into being a mother. Sometimes it's not fabulous nights out and play dates, or Mommy & Me, and it's hard. The worst thing you can do to a mom who is having a rough day is tell her, "Oh, it's OK, you're a mom." Or, when you find out someone stays at home, "You must have it so easy, to be just a Mom." It's not easy, it's hard. Sometimes, it's beyond hard!

April 2014