Motherhood is not for wimps...

Apr 13

I’m not going to lie to you…. I was THAT child. You know the one I’m talking about. The child who you just do not understand. The one who is constantly making you ask, “Why!?! Just… why?” I am the child that thousands of books are written about… instructing these poor mothers like my own, on how to parent kids like us. I was the “strong-willed” child. I mean, of course my mom loved me to pieces. I made her smile at times and laugh occasionally… but regularly, I drove her crazy, made her cringe, gave her heart-attacks, and drove her to her knees in prayer. (GUESS WHICH ONE I AM IN THE PHOTO ABOVE?)

I was the child who made her feel inadequate as a mother. Do you have a child like that?

She did her best to love and parent me. And she did an AMAZING job. But I was the “I’ll do it myself” child. I was 5 going on 30 and did not need help from anyone or anything. Which of course meant that I had a life full of mistakes and lessons learned the hard way. I broke my mom’s heart many times, leaving her with feelings of helplessness and uncertainty. Nevertheless, my mother continued to love me, give me grace, teach me, train me, and attempted to guide my tenacious spirit in the right way. Then, 18 years later, she had to do the inevitable, the hardest part for any woman taking part in this thing called motherhood. She had to let go.

The 10.5 months of pregnancy (sorry mom!), and the endless hours of laboring to bring me into the world. Those “less-than-glamourous” early days of motherhood, where getting to take a shower and/or brush your teeth feel like a day at the spa. The years of selflessly giving herself every minute of every day, creating a lifetime of seemingly ordinary mom moments. Those were a walk in the park compared to this moment.

The years of the constant training, reminding, and teaching me life lessons… The years of screening phone calls, maintaining my calendar, and coordinating the production of multiple homework projects. All of those things were leading up to this moment and all of them felt one million times easier than this.

This is the moment as a mother that feels impossible. You can no longer govern their lives making sure things go according to plan. And while they are still yours (they will always be yours to some extent)… they are no longer yours. This moment of letting go of the reins and having to sit back and see what happens... This is the hardest moment of all the moments. Motherhood is not for wimps.

But it wasn’t until I became a mother myself that I realized any of these things. It only took me about 2 seconds into my journey into motherhood for me to apprehend this. Realizing the depth of her love for me… acknowledging that my mom might actually know some things that I don’t. Humility came over me. Because the truth is, being a mom is really hard and I have no idea what I’m doing. And it might just be the grace of God to provide someone a little further ahead on this trail of motherhood to help me navigate the crazy terrain.

So this mothers day, give more than a phone-call, store-bought card or some flowers. Instead, give her a gift as special as she is. As mothers, our children are our everything… and there will come a day when photos with my mom will have a value so profound that it will truly be priceless. Give the "mommy's" in your life an amazing experience & photographs she will never forget!

*EARLY ACCESS* Sign up now for:

Mommy & Me Mini Sessions (Mothers & their kids (age 0-20 ish):