i've had several conversations with other mommies lately about mommies tearing down other mommies. makes me sad. our children, their childhood, our motherhood is not to be used to boast, to put ourselves above others, to tear someone else down. being a mom is hard work. it's not the toughest job out there, but it is a tough one. mom's need encouragement. and who better to encourage us? each other!
natural child birth - child birth with pain meds
home birth - hospital birth
breast feeding - bottle feeding
family bed - separate beds
working mom - stay at home mom
single mom - married mom
homeschooling - public - private schooling
early readers - late readers
no processed foods - processed foods allowed
no tv/computer/video games - full access to electronics
wood only toys - plastic toys
vacines - no vacines
lots of extra curricular activities - no extra curricular activies
large family - small family
etc
etc
etc
we can draw all kinds of dividing lines. but aren't we fortunate to have so many choices available to us?
our family is clearly one side or the other on some of these issues. but on many, we are somewhere in between. as a woman/wife/mom/person, i make decisions with my husband based on what we feel is right for our family. not on what is right for someone else's family. i shouldn't have to defend myself to another mom. i shouldn't feel less of a mom because of someone else's choices. i will make mistakes. we all do. but for the most part, they are not truly mistakes. they are just things i wish i had done differently.
are my children happy? yes!
are my children being educated? yes!
are my children healthy and growing? yes!
are my children loved? yes!
proud to be a mom! proud to be the mom i am!
now, if you're the mom that is cursing out your two year old while standing in front of me in the line at walmart at llpm, then yes, i will have an opinion. will i want to scoop that child up in my arms and take her home with me? yes. will i do it? no.
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see that picture at the top of the post? my children always get along. they are sweet and kind to each other. they always address me and others with respect. ha! while that is true sometimes, it's not true all the time. let us remember not to be discouraged when reading blogs too. my kids fight, my kids look rattie-tattie sometimes, my house has dust bunnies and cob webs, the dog might have just licked the butter sitting on the counter. but i'm not going to take a picture of those things to share with you : )
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"and let us consider how to stir one another up to love and good works"
- hebrews 10:24
9 comments:
Thanks! I needed to read this post!
Great post and I agree with you although I am a grandmother. I worked when my 3 children were small. It was just the way it was. I had wonderful day care for them. I am now retired and chose to keep my two grandsons. Believe it or not I get a lot of criticism for keeping them. One of the things you discover when you get older is a lot of those things you listed don't make an difference in the long run. The most important thing is to love your kids!
Awesome! Love your post. Such good insight. Wish everyone had this point of view!
So true. It is an awful statement that we focus on what tears us apart as opposed to what binds us and makes us human. We are more similar than different. Just because we choose different routes to our destination it is all the same, no matter our religious beliefs...death, Hopefully we will be judge on the merit of those choices. Very thought provoking...
Recently at a class coffee morning, I was told that it is not natural that my kids (10 & 12) are close, that soon they will grow apart separately like normal folks & not love each other as much. I was so filled with love for my kids right then, that I drove to school afterwards to pick them up & thank them for not being what other mothers said they ought to be.
Great post Sarah! I love being a Mom... tough some days but still love it!
Nicely done.
Well put.
Amen.
I read a wonderful blog post the other day, recommended by a friend, it's so very much like your post here.
http://www.danoah.com/2010/09/disease-called-perfection.html
Keeping it real, we're all doing the best we can, and no one is doing it any better than we are.
Love your post!
Do those Mom's standing in line at walmart being ugly to their kids really hear what they're saying?
I'm a Mother to three boyz, grandmother to two (with two more on the way) and people always tell me how sweet my kids and grandkids are. It's not hard raising happy children.
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