Motherhood Controversy

There's a lot of controversy surrounding motherhood nowadays.

In all fairness, it was probably around before, but the internet has a way of bringing conflict to the forefront. I have a love/hate relationship with that sort of thing. I like to be informed about these issues, but I don't like how these inflamed articles bombard me.

We have to breastfeed, or our children will grow up with allergies.

We have to have natural childbirth, to experience the fullness of feminine power.

We have to have a career, or we aren't reaching our full potential.

We have to feed our kids homemade, organic, local food, or our kids will be unhealthy.

We need to only expose our babies to wholesome, educational, Christian media, or else no media at all.

We need to have perfectly clean homes, or our kids will find that one piece of dirt and choke on it.

We need to be careful about vaccinating our kids, because who knows what toxins are in them.

I even talked to a mom at play group who was afraid to put sunscreen on her kids, because of chemicals leaking into their skin. SUNSCREEN, people.

We seriously need to lay off ourselves and each other. There's no such thing as a perfect mother or perfect kid. We're going to make mistakes, and what's good for one mom isn't always good for another. Jesus can redeem our families, whether or not they wore cloth diapers and breastfed until they were two.

By the way, I don't intend this to be another internet rant, so I'm sorry. It's just been on my mind lately.

Mothers Days

2012: I was excited. Mother's Day this year was going to be so fun. When we got to surprise my mother-in-law with that ultrasound picture and celebrate together with my parents, I was so happy. I was going to be a mom! I couldn't wait.

2013: The emotional wounds were very raw that day. I was still grieving my baby girl, and the last thing I wanted to hear about were happy mothers in church. I spent that Mother's Day service in the women's restroom crying. Some friends sat with me and comforted me, but the pain was real and poignant that day. I wasn't even sure I could call myself a mom because I never got to mother my daughter.

2014: I stood in church that day, smiling and round. I was happy to be pregnant again, this time with what appeared to be a very healthy child. I thought about the year before, and the child I missed, but the brighter horizon was coming.

2015: My family of three laid in bed early yesterday morning, and my husband slipped a card into our baby's hands to pass to me. I was told "happy Mother's Day" as I dropped off my kid in Sunday school. August cried because he's teething and fussed because he was tired. I changed diapers and clothes, cleaned messes, and planned meals. It was the best. 

Happy belated Mother's Day. Every year won't be a celebration, but it's nice to acknowledge all the states and stages of motherhood once a year.