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| Our Family Portrait in 2002 |
Eighteen years ago I was a very inexperienced, exhausted young mama with a tiny new baby. We lived in a cinderblock apartment located in Jr. College Town, U.S.A.. I remember how my sweet husband drove 45 minutes each way in our sole vehicle to work in a computer store.
I would park myself on the couch all day with my wee one-- heaven knows she would want to eat again any second-- and watch mindless drivel like Oprah or Ricki Lake while thinking, "This mothering business is not so hard."
That first winter, when I would get overwhelmed by cabin fever, I would bundle up my precious babe, haul her and our used stroller down two flights of stairs, and trudge through buckets of snow just to go grocery shopping or sometimes a mile or two down the road to the pediatrician's office.
Looking back, it's funny that I didn't feel picked on that I had to walk anywhere I wanted to go. In the cold. Through the snow and mud. With a tiny, new baby.
What was I thinking?!
Actually, it makes me smile to think about it now. I was totally clueless.
But they say ignorance is bliss, right?
...
I now have 4 teenagers, ages 18 to 13. And a son turning 12 in March. Not to mention the rest of them, ages 10 down to 20 months.
Some days, I think "This mothering business is not so hard."
And other days, I look around at the houseful of people that surround me and ask myself, "When did all this HAPPEN?!"
No matter how many years are behind us or how many kids we have, none of us know it all.
We're all still pretty clueless-- just in new, exciting areas.
I'm so thankful that the Lord has blessed us with the trust of His children. I stand amazed at His courage to send these sweet babies down to us, to let us figure the whole parenting business out. Sometimes we fail-- a LOT.
And then once in a while we succeed.
But our kids survive, life goes on, and sometimes these children of God astound us with their kindness, their wisdom, their greatness.
They teach us so much.
I'm so thankful that a little over eighteen years ago, I became a mother. It's been an awesome partnership with our Father Above.
I'm looking forward to all the many years to come.
Amen. Clueless is definitely a word I'd choose for when I first began having babies!
ReplyDeleteI often think children don't come with manuals because we are supposed to spend some time using our brain and our heart to figure life out. We are also to learn to listen to our Heavenly Father for guidance. If we are told exactly what to do, we'll never learn the "why".
ReplyDeleteI've been a mom for over 20 years and I still make mistakes too. I sat my two that are still at home down the other day and explained how I, yes all-powerful-mom, am a work in progress just like them. The only difference is I have 20-30 years more experience than them. That is really the only difference. We have to learn and grow together, realizing that even if their parents are fallible human beings, our intentions are always for their safety and well-being.
I love this motherhood thing! I am so thankful to be blessed to be a mother.
Way to go! Keep up the Great Work!
ReplyDelete