I apologize in advance for the grammatically incorrect title of today’s post. But sometimes, you’ve just got to tell it like it is. Last weekend I saw a friend and her two young daughters. She and I were both pregnant at the same time, during both pregnancies, and I had not seen her in quite a while. As she was trying to get her girls to settle down, and I was trying to reel in my children, she looked over at me and said, “They didn’t tell us motherhood would be like this, did they?” I laughed and replied, “I don’t think ANYONE could have prepared us for this!” It made me think of how I could possibly prepare Yvette for motherhood. I realized that I can’t; it’s one of those things you just have to experience for yourself to really understand. There is nothing that can fully prepare you for parenthood. Yes, there is basic advice you can give – a heads up here and there about things like sleep deprivation and potty training. But there is nothing like the real thing!

Certainly, I am not complaining about being a mother. I look at it as a challenge. My downfall is being too hard on myself, as if any “Mommie mistake” I make is going to bring permanent damage to my children’s mental health and well-being. I often joke that my goal as a mother is to keep my children out of therapy when they grow up, or at least limit how many hours they’ll have to spend in it! But one of the cardinal rules of parenthood, and especially ” Mommiehood,” is to not beat yourself up as a parent. Our job is to LOVE, PROTECT and PROVIDE for our children. That, to me, means to do the very best we can, for as long as we can.

Today, I did something I rarely have the chance to do. Yvette was at a classmate’s birthday party and I was talking with some of the class moms. Usually, we are just saying hello in passing when dropping off or picking up the children. It was nice to hear of their similar experiences with their girls. It also made me feel good that they complimented Yvette on how polite and helpful she is with her classmates. One of the moms mentioned that Yvette had stopped to help her daughter open her lunchbox last week. When you hear others speak well of your children, it makes you proud to be their Mommie, but deep down, you silently give yourself a hug for teaching them a lesson they have obviously remembered.

Is it easy being a Mommie? Absolutely not! But it is SO worth it!