Just like with anything else in life, motherhood has its seasons. I am learning that.
I am an extremely social person. I love being out and about, I love being busy, and I love being spontaneous. I really enjoy getting out of the house and being around other people, I thrive on it. Really, I am a much happier person when I have had time with people.
Since entering into this new season of motherhood leaving the house hasn’t happened as often as it used to. Some days I don’t even know what it looks like outside my front door. I am being completely serious, like I couldn’t tell you if it was raining or if the sun was shining. Want to know if you need a jacket? Well I couldn’t tell you. Coming from a girl who worked at least three days a week, went to church, and was famous for spontaneous outings, those words are surprising. My days are usually spent nursing, changing diapers, playing, laying down for naps, and trying to work on my church responsibilities, and maybe just maybe squeeze in some blogging during those naps. (I’ll let you figure out if I even shower most days).
But, this is real motherhood, and it’s only a season.
It hasn’t been easy the entire time. There have been moments where I have desperately needed to leave the house baby free in order to keep my sanity. There have been moments where I have thought if I didn’t go anywhere I was going to break down. It’s only a season. Surprisingly, it hasn’t been as hard as I thought it would be for me. I know that it is only a season that my little one is going to require this much attention. It’s only a season where he will be this time consuming.
As Jase approached his fourth month things already began to change. He switched over to eating every four hours (which all mothers who know how that feels shout for joy) and each of his naps are roughly two hours. Already this has made a huge difference! It’s so much easier to go out with a greater time gap between his feedings. With the two hour naps, I can get so much done at home. It’s incredible what one extra hour between feedings can do!
Real motherhood is a life adventure that comes in many seasons. Some seasons require more time at home pouring into your little one. Some seasons allow a little more freedom and allow you to be out and about. Some seasons leave you a lot of freedom and have you counting down the time until your children get off the bus. In every season there will be days that are hard, there will be days that are easy, there will be days that are exhausting, and there will be moments you wish you could hold onto. That’s the beauty of real motherhood.
So these days that I spent wondering what was outside my door I won’t change for a thing. My little one is growing up before my eyes. He is growing and discovering more and more each day. In fact, he is beginning to realize when mom and dad are leaving him in unfamiliar places. The past three Wednesdays he has been too fussy to stay in the church nursery. Each week he has been brought to me and I immediately feel the weight of “why does my child fight the nursery when I have so many responsibilities of my own?” When I want to sit there and be frustrated that he hasn’t stayed in there easily, instead I find joy in knowing that my son wants to be with his mom. Soon the day will come where he can’t wait to be at church and spend time with his friends. Soon the day will come when he is happy to leave the presence of his mama. This is just a season and every season comes and goes. I wouldn’t change them for a thing.
This is just a season. This is real motherhood. The good, the bad, the tough, the easy, the things we wish didn’t happen, and the moments we wish we could hold onto forever.
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Very well said. I actually needed to read this tonight… the past few days have been rough 🙂
This has been my mantra, too, lately: THIS IS JUST A SEASON. I love how you look at Jace not staying in the nursery…I try so hard to keep that perspective, too, but man it's hard sometime! Since LL was born, I've been so focused on trying to "be all there" and to enjoy the season, sometimes it surprises me when that season IS over!
The think about "real" motherhood that I think people don't seem to get across enough is that motherhood is always changing. Once you think you have a rhythm, or a sleeping pattern, or whatever, you're on to something new. I think that makes moms in general an adaptable, think-on-your-feet bunch.