Mom’s The Word…

I have always prided myself on being a good mother. And by good mother I mean patient, kind, interested, nurturing, strong, forgiving and so on and so on. I may not always be firing on all cylinders at all times, but I hold up my end of the bargain pretty well. And then there was Carter…My surprise baby. #4!  The one I never saw coming and who could not have shown up at a more complicated time in my life.  We thought we were done having babies. Having had three boys, I had settled into the fact that I wouldn’t ever have the good fortune of having a daughter. I embraced that I have two God daughters and looked forward to granddaughters, and daughter in-laws etc.

We found out that we were have a Baby Girl and as if the shock of the pregnancy wasn’t enough, it was no easy ride either putting me in the hospital for a month and delivering weeks early. But… that is a post for another day. We made it through and I tried and still try hard to keep my head above water. I have felt defeated by life before, but I never felt more defeated as a Mom until we had number 4. I shared the post below with a Mom’s group that I belong to and I found the response to be overwhelming and supportive.

I also found that Social Media is really good at showing us the highlight reel of peoples lives. And why wouldn’t it be? No one wants their failures to play out publicly. So we only upload pictures and tell the stories that portray beauty and glee. I know there is a place for that too. But there is also a great place for truth and vulnerability. I promise to give that to you here. We don’t need anymore models to look at and wish we could be that pretty, or that skinny any more than we need pretend model families portraying only the perfect house with the white picket fence, the 2.5 kids and the family dog.

I love those photos too, but it is my job as the spectator to not get sucked into imagery so much that I discount my own life. Its my job to take that fake family’s photo out of the new picture frame I just bought, and replace it with memories of my own. That is your job too. So I found by sharing my frustrations and weaknesses I opened the door to greater connections with people who just needed me to say it first. I hope that more people will share the famous moments that has helped to make the thread of their families so strong, not because it has never been dirtied, but because it has managed to stay in tact even after several washes.