I once had an “experienced” mom ask me, “can you imagine your life without katelyn?” This was but a few weeks after she was born. My response? “Yes!”
She was stunned and I was baffled by her bafflement. Clearly, we weren’t on the same page with this brief Q&A session.
Being a mom is hard. Being a full-time, stay-at-home mom is hard. There is a huge learning curve. So of course I could imagine what life was like before our first bundle arrived. Anyone who “doesn’t remember” all the adventures, socializing, shopping, hobby-ing, and the likes they did before their baby(ies) came is full of it.
This doesn’t mean that I’d trade in all three of my offspring for my carefree days. But really, who doesn’t entertain those thoughts of walking aimlessly through the Target aisles without tagalongs? Or, the obligation to relieve your other half from them (ie “I’ll be quick”).
The other day I had the chance to go grocery shopping with only a sleeping Jacob in tow. I had the pleasure of leisurely reading food labels. It was both stimulating and relaxing at the same time. On the flip side, who doesn’t love watching little girls cruz the aisles with mini shopping carts?
I once heard a friend describe an article she read where the author offered validation to all moms. Moms of one and moms of one dozen–the job is hard. It’s a game of guessing. A game of trial and error. A game of applied science. A game of proving and debunking. Thing is, every stage of it is hard for one reason or another. Having one child is hard just as having ten is hard. You struggle and learn at every stage.
The great thing is, if you can’t quite figure it out, kiddos are pretty forgiving.
