What Being a Mom Really Is

Being a mom is. . .

…waking up in the morning, except it’s not the first time that those eyes have opened for the day. It’s the fourth. The first time was because baby was hungry. The second — your 3-year-old screamed in the night for mommy to come in his room. The third time–your oldest woke you up by putting his stinky toes in your face after he climbed into your bed at 2 am after a night terror. And the fourth? The baby’s hungry…again.

Being a mom is juggling a mile long mental to-do-list that never seems to have an end. Meals need to be made, laundry needs done, and the floors? They haven’t been vacuumed since the last time you had company, which was for your oldest’s birthday party over a month ago. It’s searching through the hundreds of tiny trinkets in the toy box to find something that starts with letter “I” for Show and Tell that you forgot was today, and it’s forgoing the getting ready process because ain’t no mamma got time for a shower.

It’s stressful

Being a mom is losing your cool, not always, but sometimes. It’s yelling over something small, then regretting it. It’s worrying over the things that may seem trivial to some, but to you, it’s everything. It’s wondering if your kid is going to grow up and turn out alright, or if they’re going to end up a hot mess because you fed them way too much sugar and processed food some days.

Being a mom is allowing too much screen time, then worrying that you have ruined their very existence by it. It’s getting thrown up on, screamed at, and stripping urine stained sheets at 3 am from a potty accident. Being a mom is pure and utter exhaustion. It’s soothing every eye (but yours) back to sleep during the night, each set at different times. It’s reheating the largest cup of coffee humanly possible, and even that’s not enough to keep your purple-pooched eyes open. It’s rewashing the same load of laundry repeatedly because you’re too busy (and exhausted) to get it out when it’s done the fist time. 

Being a mom is making a variety of foods, catering to each of your children — even though you just made a meal as good as Gordon Ramsay’s, they want chicken nuggets…again. It’s eating your dinner last, when it’s as cold as an iceberg in Antarctica. It’s poop, boogers, toots, sickness, worry, tears, and anger all rolled into one.

It’s work

Being a mom is tough. It’s work that is from sun up to sun down. But, especially at night, when you lay down your littles to sleep, you realize there is nothing else you would rather be called than mom. Being a mom is the best thing to be. It’s watching your children sleep, and wondering how on God’s green Earth you could ever — ever — feel anything other than blessed. It’s getting in touch with your animal instincts in order to protect your child, and there is nothing more frightening (yet beautiful) than a mama bear protecting her cub. Being a mom is wet kisses, endless hugs, and a love so fierce that you can’t believe that your heart hasn’t yet exploded into a trillion tiny pieces. 

It’s the best

As Gretchen Rubin said, “The days are as long as the years are short.” And those years, oh, they are so short, mama.”  Embrace the chaos. Graciously accept the “I Love You’s” that won’t always be said so quickly and easily. There will be a day that we long for tiny hand prints on our freshly Windex-ed windows, and a day that we could only hope to hear the pitter-patter of tiny feet running into our bedrooms at night. Being a mom is tough, but being a mom is the best. 

jaimeemartin
Jaimee was born and raised in Omaha. She is the wife to handsome Bret, and stay-at-home mom to three beautiful boys, Cooper (November 2012)) Crue (January 2015), and Cade (June 2018). She is also a "dog momma" to Mitzy (Poo-chi), Bentley (Yorkie), and Chloe (Yorkie). In her spare time, Jaimee loves to write and catch up on her favorite television shows, which consists mostly of reality T.V. She attended UNO where she received a Bachelors Degree in Elementary Education. Jaimee hopes to return to the world of teaching once all of her boys are in grade school. Jaimee and her family are self-proclaimed Disney fanatics and enjoy anything that deals with Mickey Mouse.

1 COMMENT

  1. All true – it is the best – and then you’re a grandma and it’s the best all over again ❤️?

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