There Will Be Yelling at the Sky & Other Mom Truths

Welcome to Momdom, the unpredictable roller coaster ride that lingers between bliss and utter insanity. Protect your whites and hang on to your valuables. Throw your sensibilities by the wayside and hunker down for a long ride. There will be tears, snot, hair pulling and disappointments. You must not be squeamish to ride this ride. You’ll definitely need a bigger handbag. Here are my universal mom truths. 

There will be crying and plenty of uncontrollable laughter. You’ll end up doing things you swore you never would. There WILL be yelling at the sky! A sense of humor will be your saving grace.

You will take on jobs you never applied for – plan to fill at least six open positions at any given time without compensation or notice; cook, housekeeper, nurse, teacher, laundry maiden, sergeant and other duties as assigned. You will threaten to quit only to return to work again.

There will be the pulling on and off of things, several times a day … and scrubbing, wiping and washing of little people and stuff. At times the box for it all will seem so small and the walls too close. At other times, the possibilities will seem too wide and vast … too much room for failure.

You will worry. Oh, how will you worry about everything you cannot control but desire to!

You will find joy and life will bring you questions that you don’t have the answer to. You will lie to protect. You will share the hard truths wrapped love.

Your body will move through some days that your brain won’t remember. Questions of whether any of it is enough will keep you up at night. Determination will wake you early in the morning.

There will be singing off key. Dancing will be the language of celebration. Hugs will challenge you to forgive and forget. Your touch will reassure and remind.

And there will be peeling of fruit for little hands, band-aids off little knees, of tantrum-throwing children off public floors. Add a dose of kicking for good measure to the back of your car seats, your walls, your shins and the kicking of siblings intentional and not.

Your arms will become a place of safety and comfort when the world seems big and uncertain. Your legs will be the pillars for those not yet strong enough to stand on their own.

You’ll want a drink! You will need a nap … or three!

Other moms will offer you a knowing smile on your worst days. Some will share their magic and you will sprinkle them with some of your own.

You’ll be a queen wearing a construction paper crown adorned with sticker jewels and priceless kinder art. You will create princesses, knights, puppy dogs, clowns, lady bugs and mermaids. Your hands will craft their future. Your words will raise the wise.

You will, without awareness, be behind the camera more often than in front. You will build. You will mold and make things that cannot be quantified. You will stretch yourself beyond reasonable limits for the greater good.

There will be doubts.

There will also be rainbows, sprinkles and glitter. You will create peace where there was chaos and you will be missed when you are gone, even if your travel is just a room away.

There will not be enough gratitude. You are the force that holds it all together. You are, My Dear, a mom.