What is a mom prepared for?

This morning, as I waking up at 6:30am to the Connor toddler alarm of "Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!", I realized that nothing has prepared me for motherhood. I haven't gone through a Marine boot camp in which many of them are sleep deprived. (Especially since January.) I haven't been homeless and experienced the pangs of hunger brought on by watching others eat, only to settle for a granola bar on the toilet in front of a 2 year old audience who ate like a king. I haven't been in a boxing class where someone smaller than me thinks it's ok to hit. And, I now realize that my 2 week Christmas job working in an assembly line hadn't trained me enough to endure the monotony of doing the same thing over and over. (ie, sit in timeout until you hear the beep...sweep the floor, do the laundry, pull the weeds...squeeze the playdoh, read the book 3 times in a row.)

But, most of all, no one prepared me for the realization that a cuddle, a kiss, and a treasured smile could make all those other inadequacies of mine disappear. And, don't forget the somersaults before bed. (He actually "somersaulted" into his diaper changing position after I told him it was time to change his poopy diaper. I felt like I needed the theme song from Mission Impossible in the background.)
Love you all and enjoy the pic,
Heidi

(I'll post the pic later on the picture threads.)

By Dawnk777 on Tuesday, August 29, 2006 - 06:20 am:

I don't think anything really prepares us for motherhood! With Sarah, it sure was the fact that her days and nights were messed up for a while, right after she was born! She sure would sleep nice, once daylight hit!

By Fraggle on Tuesday, August 29, 2006 - 09:17 am:

I am definitely burned out from the monotony of tasks and I totally can sympathize with you on the boxing training, sleep deprivation and the granola bars-many mornings this summer I have headed out the door to get one daughter to tennis camp and realized that I never ate breakfast. Nothing does train you for this job and it doesn't help that it is 24-7 (especially for you right now (((Heidi))). I'm glad you are able to put a little humor into the situation though-Mission Impossible-too funny! Sometimes that is just what we need to make it through.

By Reds9298 on Tuesday, August 29, 2006 - 01:36 pm:

I agree that nothing prepares you for being a parent.
The monotony is the worst part for me, too. VERY burnt out on that. The same mundane tasks over and over again. Being a SAHM mom is harder than working in one way...there's no break! You work 24/7 and that's what makes this job so different than any other. And that's not just for the saty home parent...I worry because DH works all day and spends all of his spare time with Natalie, too, doing everything that I do when he's home. It's so hard to strike a balance.

It IS all worth all those wonderful moments. Looking into Natalie's beuatiful eyes and watching her learn makes me forget the long hours. I really enjoy being with her, too, but miss the brain stimulation that working brings.

Definitely can relate. Hang in there, Heidi!

By Dawnk777 on Tuesday, August 29, 2006 - 06:42 pm:

I remember having to put Shout on so many spots, when my kids were little and being grateful that I had only 2 kids' worth of clothes and couldn't imagine doing it for more!

By Nicki on Thursday, August 31, 2006 - 10:22 am:

What a great letter, Heidi, and so true! I can remember thinking before Lara was born how nice it would be not to be working (employed), once she arrived. I imagined calm days at home, snuggling my smiling daughter, sipping some tea in a nice clean house. Oh my, was I in for a shock!:-) There were times she was smiling, but the rest...:-|