Being a mom has its ups and downs, regardless if it's your first or 20th child you're expecting. Something that completely threw me as a new mom years ago was the sudden interest in telling me all about how to parent just right. It seemed everyone from close family and friends to the lady behind me in the grocery store, everyone had an opinion, and it was sacrosanct to them.
Let me share with you my advice. It's simple really. Listen closely.
God gave you this particular child, because they needed your particular gifts, strengths and weaknesses, and you need theirs as well.
That's it.
Simple right?
Not when you sit and start thinking about it. When you consider that the whole person you are is there to parent a child, the good, bad and ugly, it becomes humbling. This whole parenting thing takes on a new meaning when you realize they will emulate you to some degree or fashion. These little minds will watch you, study you for years, day in and day out. To learn how to be in this world. All the good things you do, and all the things you wished you could undo.
Parenting is not a cake walk. Being selfless never is. Making sure others needs are taken care of before your own, isn't always glamorous. There will be times when the toddler in you throws a fit and lashes out about a certain woe or wrong done to you. Believe me, those fits can be awe-inspiring...to the negative!
But, watching young children see the world with new eyes, and their ability to delight in the simple. Well, in my mind, there's no better thing!
If you could say something to new moms, what would it be? If you could say something to yourself when you were first pregnant?
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