Motherhood Has Its Privileges!
Motherhood is a badge of honor of which I am most proud! I will never forget the tremendous joy I felt when I first found out I was going to be a mother. Although there was a bit of fear and uncertainty, the most prevalent emotion was of wonder and euphoria. All the love and tenderness that I felt for John, my husband of over thirty-five years, somehow grew to mammoth proportions and suffused my life.
Pregnancy had it ups and downs as my body changed to accommodate the life growing inside of me. For the first time, what I ate, the clothes I wore and even the position in which I slept were about someone else. While I had never though of myself as selfish, pregnancy started my boot camp training in selflessness.
When my first daughter was born, all discomfit and pain of childbirth were forgotten and replaced with immense pride. She was absolutely beautiful and I could hardly believe that John and I helped to create someone so perfect and full of unconditional love. We both spent hours inhaling her sweet baby scent, staring at her angelic features and holding her close. I slept in snatches because it my pleasure to get up to feed her, change her diapers and to simply play with her.
The infancy and toddler stages flew by with new wonders almost daily. It felt as if I had birthed the smartest child around as I watched her learn to sit up, crawl, feed herself, walk and potty train. I'll never forget how thrilled I was the first time she called me Ma-Ma. It was amazing to see this happy little person observe and process the things around her.
Early childhood and elementary school years brought on the experiences of watching this new soul learn to interact with others independent of my influence and protection. I watched her choose friends and develop relationships outside of the family nucleus. This was also the time to explore activities and interest that would shape this child into adulthood. Looking back at the school plays, dance recitals, musical concerts and church holiday programs, I realize how much of my social calendar was taken up with kiddie-events.
Our family grew at this time to include two more daughters. I experienced those same joys and wonderment with each new birth. The girls were absolutely adorable. However, the motherhood dynamics began to change as I repeated the earlier stages of development with them while discovering new things with my eldest daughter. I didn't want to neglect anyone's needs so it became a challenge to make sure to respect each child's individuality. I also discovered that each child's distinct personality was evident from birth. Just because I had mothered a six month old baby before did not mean that I was an expert on all six month old babies. I had had to allow each child to develop at her own pace.
Adolescence brought on even more challenges and excitement. Watching the process of my eldest daughter developing into a young woman caused me to reflect on the best things I wanted to impart into her life. It was also during this point that she began to question human sexuality when our family grew to include a son and another daughter. Again, I was in awe with the beautiful babies who now completed our family.
As a mother of five children, simultaneously I experienced the hectic teenaged years, adolescence, late elementary, early elementary and pre-school years. Whew! This is where the privileges of motherhood included a crash course in juggling many hats at once. It is also when I discovered that nurturing a son was a very different process than nurturing daughters. My son toughened me as I learned to suck it up when he experienced minor injuries from sports activities.
By the time all of the children attended college, I was able to experience the delight of seeing each person become equipped with the tools to make a positive impact on society and to continue the cycle of life with families of their own. I am so thankful that all are happy young people who are successful in their chosen professions. The privileges of motherhood include unconditional love, immense joy, selflessness, learning to adapt and knowing when to relax and let go. I agree with the Mildred B. Vermont's quote, "Being a full-time mother is one of the highest salaried jobs... since the payment is pure love."
[http://Dianawilliams.org]
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Diana_Williams.
Motherhood clothes