Thanksgiving is upon us, and it’s a wonderful time to take stock in everything you have around you on a daily basis. Sure, we all get caught up in the usual mundane, day-to-day chores and tasks, but do you ever really stop to think about how lucky you are? I’ve put a lot of thought into it, so here’s 7 reasons I’m grateful to be a mom.
7. I know love. True love. When you don’t have kids, people who do always say things like “it’s a love you could never know until you have children have your own.” And you think, blah, blah, sure… look at how cute my kitty is!! But it’s true: there’s simply no love quite like the unconditional love a mother has for her child. Nothing. On. Earth.
6. I’m loved back. Even when I don’t love myself too much, or I look in the mirror and barely recognize the tired, older, worn-out woman staring back, my children look at me with a love like no other.
5. I wake up everyday with purpose. I am needed. Every single day, someone is relying on me… a lot. It gives me a reason to climb out of bed. And it’s the reason I can happily drift off to sleep every night – I may be utterly pooped, but it’s because I had purpose today.
4. I get to share in firsts. There’s nothing like experiencing a child’s first everything, from the foods to the holidays and birthdays, the wonders of the world and the simple pleasures. I’d never realized just how many firsts we experience in our lives until I became a mom. And now, I relish in every wonderful “first.”
3. I get to pass things on. Wisdom. Life lessons. Funny anecdotes. Things my mother would say to me that I now find myself saying to my own brood. Traditions I was fond of as a child. Old wives tales my aunts and grandmothers used to tell me. It’s all so much fun to pass things on to my kids.
2. I get to look at myself in a new way. I’m constantly reexamining myself, what I believe in, how I behave, and that’s thanks to my children. They’re watching and mimicking and taking cues from me all day, every day. It’s a wonderful reminder to reassess our thoughts and feelings on a regular basis.
1. I get to do the best job in the world. Yes, it’s exhausting, and stressful, and at times thankless. True, there’s no pay or vacation time. But it’s the best job I have ever done, like, ever. No one could ever offer me a gig that holds this much happiness.