Motherhood is the only job that requires you to be effectively a human submarine for 9 months before becoming a 24-hour combo of chef, chauffeur, nurse, and professional negotiator with someone who believes bedtime is optional.
They say that a mother holds you for 9 months in her belly, three years in her arms, and forever in her heart. But let me tell you something they don’t include in the brochure: those 9 months feel more like 9 decades when your little renter decides 3 a.m. is the best time for kickboxing practice.
The Olympic Sport of Everyday Parenting
What happened to those three years of carrying? They conveniently neglect to emphasize that it’s not just carrying; it’s carrying while also making dinner, responding to business emails, and performing Olympic-level acrobatics to keep your toddler from transforming your living room into their personal parkour studio.
The physical demands are only the beginning. One day you’re a normal person enjoying a relaxing cup of coffee, and the next you’re someone who can change a diaper in complete darkness while half asleep, relying solely on muscle memory and what can only be described as mom superpowers.
The Supernatural Abilities of Motherhood
Speaking of superpowers, becoming a mother suddenly grants you the capacity to hear a pin drop from three rooms away while sleeping, but it also renders you entirely deaf to your spouse’s inquiries about food. How ironic is that?
The heart, however, is where the real magic happens. Your heart can burst with pride because your child learned to write their name and sink with terror because they scrawled it on the wall. Your child used a permanent marker to accomplish this. You are participating in a video call with your employer.
The Paradox of Parental Love
Nobody forewarns you about the paradoxical nature of parenthood. You’ll spend hours watching them sleep, admiring their calm beauty, only to secretly beg them—for the love of all things holy—to sleep when it’s bedtime.
Every mother masters what I call “Mom Mathematics.” It’s where you divide your focus between many children, multiply your patience, cut back on sleep hours, and still bring love to every circumstance. The formula does not make sense on paper, but it does work.
The Infinite Heart Storage
And let’s talk about the heart’s storage capacity. Your heart grows to accommodate every tiny moment, including the first grin, unsteady steps, tear-stained faces, joyful successes, and even spectacular failures. It’s like having infinite cloud storage for emotions.
Then comes the bittersweet time when your little child is no longer so little. When they stand there, ready to take on the world, your heart fills with pride so strong it feels like it would burst. You watch them pack for college, walk down the aisle, or hold their own kid, and you wonder how that tiny child who couldn’t pronounce “spaghetti” became this magnificent adult in front of your eyes.
The Forever Journey
The truth is that being a mother is the only job that allows you to celebrate someone else’s growth while yet hoping they could stay small forever. It’s encouraging them to expand their wings while secretly hoping they’ll always return to your nest.
So, here’s to all the mothers out there: submarine operators, human jungle gyms, heart expanders, and love multipliers. We may only hold our children for a fraction of their lives in our arms, but we will have them in our hearts until the end of time.
The Reality Behind the Scenes
Imagine a mother washing mashed bananas off her business casual while perfecting her “I’ve got it all together” grin for the parent-teacher conference. And she’s almost certainly crushing it.
This is the nature of motherhood. We carry on, carry through, and carry forever—even if it means carrying a screaming toddler in one arm and the last vestiges of our sanity in the other.
And we wouldn’t want it any other way.
A Message to All Mothers
To every mother reading this,
Whether you’re navigating toddlerhood, adolescence, or watching your adult children build their own nests, know that you’re doing an excellent job. For those still engrossed in sticky fingers and bedtime stories, the days may be long, but the years are fleeting. For parents watching their children leave on their own adventures, your heart may be outside your body, but it is growing stronger with each step.
Those preparing to embark on the crazy path of motherhood, brace up! It’s the most breathtaking experience you’ll ever have. And to the seasoned moms who could write volumes of memories and errors, thank you for setting the path and demonstrating that it’s absolutely acceptable to be imperfect.
Keep in mind, while there is no such thing as a perfect mother, there are millions of imperfectly perfect ones who dedicate themselves to their work every day. And this includes you.
Keep loving, laughing, and holding those lovely souls in your arms, even if they’re taller than you and roll their eyes at your dad jokes.
I will see you next time.
Innersoulwhisp
P.S. If you’re reading this while hiding in the toilet for five minutes of peace, I see you, and you totally deserve that secret chocolate bar in your drawer.