James 1:17 says, "every good and perfect gift comes from above". My personal belief is that every child is a true gift from God. Having a child and becoming a mom is one of the most exciting things that can happen to/for a woman. I have a few girlfriends that are either experiencing pregnancy or motherhood, for the first time. Having (very) recently been there myself, I'm familiar with all the excitement in store. However, there was so much more to motherhood that I wasn't prepared for. I don't have the heart to tell my dear friends the real truth,.......mommying ain't easy.
One thing that's become apparent in my life recently, that no one ever warned me about, was how the every day, simple things, would no longer be easy and definitely not quick, by any means. For example, here's a fun little story for ya. Last week, my husband left for work and in less than an hour called me explaining how he had forgotten his wallet and needed me to bring it to him. Before having a child, this would have been a no biggie. I could've jumped in the car and ran across town without thinking twice. Now, as a mother with a seven month old, the game has completely changed. Now, not only did I have to get myself somewhat dressed and appropriate, but it was also breakfast time, so I had to finish feeding my girl, change her diaper, get her dressed, get her buckled in her car seat, load her up, and then head out. Even if it all sounds super simple, trust me, what normally would have been a 10 minute task before becoming a mom, has now turned into 45 minutes (at best). Only seven months into this motherhood journey, and I already have countless scenarios just like this one, proving that being a mom is by no means easy...or quick.
For this week's particular blog post, I wanted to do things a little bit differently. I thought it might be interesting to share a list of things that I have discovered over the last couple of months that no one ever warned would no longer be simple tasks.
1) A trip not only to the grocery store, but even to the gas station - you know how annoying it is when you're trying to pump gas and that little screen says "please see cashier" or you only have cash with you? Yeah, trust me when I say it's way more frustrating when you have to lug a baby/car-seat inside and wait in line for something that should be so simple.
2) Packing for a trip - go ahead and prepare yourself now, to pack your entire house if you plan on going somewhere for more than a few hours.
3) Washing dishes - now, you have countless bottles and baby spoons to wash along with all of your usual dishware.
4) Cleaning house - now, you have a million toys, walkers, play sets, blankets, diapers, etc. to pick up, while trying to entertain a little human.
5) Folding laundry - no baby wants to sit and watch mom put countless clothes away and for some reason, babies always seem to have double the amount of laundry than their parents do.
6) Bath time - there's no such thing as giving a baby a "quick" bath, at least not in my experience.
7) Getting dressed/ready - if you have a set time and routine for getting ready, add an extra hour or two to that and you might be somewhat on time (if you're lucky).
8) Sitting down to eat a meal - you'll be lucky if you get to enjoy a lukewarm meal. Mealtime always seems to be open game for chaos to arise. Eventually you'll learn to either inhale your food or eat a few bites stretched out over a few hours in between cries and diaper changes.
9) Sitting down to write a blog post - you'll notice that I stopped at number 9, not to be different or keep things interesting, but simply because as the theme to this post, it was virtually impossible to write. This is my first post in about four weeks. This task, at one point in time, would have taken me maybe an hour to finalize everything. Four weeks later, I'm still struggling to find time to share some of my motherhood experiences.
So, to all of you soon-to-be momma's (or parents) out there, here's a fair warning: very few things will be quick and easy while trying to care for a little human. However, I have discovered three for sure things that happen quickly.
1) A shower - say goodbye to nice, long, relaxing showers.
2) How quickly you can fall in love with a tiny human you just met.
3) How quickly that tiny little human, becomes no longer tiny.
