It's not easy being a mother. In the first year, you sleep so few hours that you forget what it is like to actually get a decent amount of sleep. You clean up after so many diapers and spit ups that you truly forget the last time you yourself have taken a shower. You have to set an alarm to remind you to eat because you spend your very little "free" time trying to catch up on laundry or, if you actually listen to all those people who try to give you the advice, sleep. You essentially go without taking care of your own basic needs to tend to those of your baby. You have given the ultimate sacrifice!
But that is just the beginning...
In the toddler years, your child only seems to speak in questions and by the end of just one day, you've answered at least 400, in addition to each and every decision you've had to make about what to eat, what to do, and how to discipline your child. It's exhausting to make that many decisions in one day and you do it every day! You use circus tricks and acrobatics to convince your child to use the toilet instead of a diaper for their potty breaks. You experience tantrums & tears because the graham cracker you just gave them in two pieces they actually wanted in one. You try to calm them down when they are having a melt down because they have become deathly afraid of the wind or the vacuum or a tiny speck of dust that they have convinced themselves is a bug. Every ounce of mental and physical energy is spent tending to their new and developing personalities.
I can only speculate on the emotions and experiences that come with having school-age children or {gasp!} teenagers because we haven't gotten there ourselves yet. But... I've been one! I know the crazy antics that my sister and I put my own mother through. Yet, she is still my best friend. I can talk to her about anything and everything. She gives me the most sound advice and knows me better than anyone else. She has taught me everything that I know about being a mother myself. She has taught me that despite all of the physically & mentally exhausting things that our children can do throughout the years, we love them still. We love them through it all.
I truly believe that love is the most powerful & influential tool that exists within us. Thank you to all of the mothers, grandmothers, aunts, sisters, and mother-type figures that I know for expressing love to those around you! You are truly loved in return. Happy Mothers Day!
Muffins with Mom at the girls' school!
Mother's Day brunch!
Our annual Mother's Day tradition is shoe shopping... Nora picked these.
{SPOILER ALERT: I did NOT buy them!}
A lovely mother’s day celebration party! Thank you so much for these photographs. I also celebrated this special day with my mom in NYC. We attended a party at one of party venues in NYC and enjoyed a lot there.
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