What I’ve learned after 10 years of Motherhood

On Mondays I blog about Marriage or Motherhood.  This weeks post is inspired by the 10th Birthday of our Twin boys.  My firstborn.

I believe Motherhood is a lifelong learning experience.  Since our first borns recently turned 10 (double digits!) I thought it would be a good time to reflect on what 10 years of motherhood has taught me.

10 Things I’ve learned after 10 years of Motherhood

Children are resilient.  One innocent (well intentioned) parenting mistake won’t ruin them for life.
I shudder when I remember sitting our boys in front of the television to eat their breakfast and watch Baby Einstein.  Now we have a house where they only watch limited television on the weekends.  They can read, write and appear to have a good number of brain cells.  Whew!

Your children will teach you more about yourself than you will ever teach them. They challenge you, show you sides of personality you never knew you had, mirror your worst habits, and just fill you with an overwhelming desire to be a better parent, person and friend.  I am by no means perfect, but I am a much better person today than I was 10 years ago.

Through your children you will experience the heights of pride and the depths of humility.  I have never felt prouder or been more humbled as I have been with and through my children.  Whenever you think you have this parenting thing down, something will happen to remind you that you don’t.  On the other hand, sometimes during the hardest weeks and most challenging days, when you’re wondering whatever made you think you could actually be a mother, your children will do or say something that surprises you in the most wonderful way and fills your heart with pride.

Anyone can be a ‘Boy Mom’.  If you told me 10 years that ago that one day I would be able to:  Name the various types of construction vehicles by their proper names, identify  insects and bugs, raise and breed reptiles,  enjoy shooting targets at a rifle range, and be able to plan fun birthday parties for boys—I would have laughed.   Yet, I’ve not only done it, I’ve truly enjoyed it.  Loving my boys has opened me to new experiences I would have never thought I could handle. While I’m still terrified of roaches, I am also a ‘Boy Mom’ and proud of it.

Motherhood is club, a sorority, a clique and a mob.  Mothering is both a universal language and a way to divide women.  I have enjoyed and benefited greatly from the sisterhood among mothers.   I’ve also been bitten by it.    Women are passionate and opinionated about motherhood, and when I’m honest with myself, I realize that I am too.

You won’t die of exhaustion or sleep deprivation, although it will feel like it.  They say the early months of bringing home an infant are hard because of the sleep deprivation.  What they don’t tell you is that after you have children you won’t ever sleep as soundly as you did before kids.  

You will say those things that you swore you would never say. You know the ones I’m talking about.  Even worse, you’ll say them often.

You will think in-depth conversations about poop are normal.

You will eventually learn how to handle all the unsolicited advice that comes your way.  When people tell you to “sleep when the baby sleeps” you will muster up enough self control not to slap them and point out that twins aren’t identical robots, but rather 2 separate individuals who sleep, eat and poop on their own accord and not just in sync with their twin.

The most ‘thankless’ jobs are also the most personally rewarding.  Motherhood isn’t  glamorous ,  high paying, or highly regarded as an occupation  by most of society  but it’s always a worthy endeavor for those who choose to embrace it.

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