What does being a mum mean to you? We asked our wonderful mum readers this question and their answers were beautiful, touching, funny, sweet and tender – and all so true! Here are some of the wonderful motherhood musings.
I’m sure they will resonate with you as much as they did with me!
Some real and emotional motherhood musings…
“Being a mum means a caregiver, a maid, a nanny, a cook, a washing machine, a host, a singer (lullaby)…”
“I will always live with my heart outside my body”
How true is this statement! For me with each of my pregnancies, the moment I saw my boys’ tiny hearts beating, something changed.
At the point when you know you are carrying this tiny little life, your whole system re-wires itself and you know you would die a million times over to protect this little person.
The moment I saw my boys’ tiny, wrinkled-up faces as they were born, I fell in love, over and over again. As parents, our kids are our hearts. To me, this means that our kids are a walking, talking, breathing symbol of unconditional love,
Being a mum means “having my heart and soul in another mini me”
“Being a mum means learning to pee and shower with an audience!”
I totally agree with the mum who said this! It’s rarely that I can shower in peace without seeing a little face peep into the bathroom looking for me, or hear my 3 year old’s non-stop plaintive cries of “where’s mummy?”
Actually I can’t be anywhere in the house by myself for more than 15 minutes without one of my boys come looking for me! I do miss my privacy. But the funny thing is during the rare occasion when I have some time to myself, I actually start missing them!
“Strength, endurance, patience and selflessness you didn’t know you had otherwise”
Nobody has the physical and emotional strength of a mum. Even the strongest man you know would never be able to through pregnancy and childbirth, guaranteed!
Only a mum could carry 2 children at the same time, both approximately the weight of small sacks of rice. And what about the emotional strength, endurance and patience that’s needed every step of the way when you have kids?
Being strong in front of my kids even when I want to cry my eyes out is one of the toughest things ever.
I guess it links in with the selflessness all mums display when it comes to their kids – we wouldn’t hesitate to give up our lives for them not out of choice, but out of love.
“Motherhood means making sure these two little boys of mine grow up into responsible, caring adults”
“It means pure joy…”
Where do I even start with the joy my kids bring me? From the moment I laid my eyes on them, I was so unbearably happy I thought my heart would burst!
The pure joy I felt when each of my sons rolled on their tummies for the first time, sat up for the first time, took their first steps…the list goes on and it will never end. My boys, they are little clowns and they make me laugh (yes, even when my eldest, pointing at a bra in a shop yelled that he had ‘found me new boobies’).
And I am the happiest when I have them in my arms in a massive group cuddle. Sheer, unadulterated joy!
Being a mum means “a lot of sacrifice, not out of choice but out of love. It means unconditional love, love that you never knew exists. It means discovering a new meaning in life.”
To me, being a mum means no more sleep-ins or lazy Sunday mornings. They are replaced with little fingers poking at my eyes at 6am trying to get me to wake up.
No more long shopping trips either. Now I have two little boys in tow and my shopping trip usually ends up in the toy store. Vacations are not really relaxing. There’s the million things to pack to start with. And the next million things to think about – where to stay, what to eat, what to do etc.
But I’m not complaining. How can these things that are no longer part of my lifestyle be any better than two little pairs of arms wrapped tightly around me, hugging me so close? Or how can they be better than when I’m looking and feeling so tired. Hearing my little boy tell me with utter conviction that he thinks I am so pretty?
How on earth can any of these things be better than hearing my 3 year old telling me he loves me. And, seeing this love reflected in the eyes of my 19 month old when he looks at me?
Being a mum is the best thing that ever happened to me. What about you? Share with us your motherhood musings and what being a mum means to you!
Also read: The most terrifying part about motherhood that nobody warns you about