Saturday, May 14, 2011

The "Full-time" Mother

Our cousin Natalie (she is oh so cute and has a fabulous craft blog! Check it out!) wrote this essay on being a Mom.  I thought it was such a good little read and so I am sharing it with all of you.  Thanks Natalie for being our Guest Post today!  You are a sister in spirit and heart :)

Hello, Saga readers. I'm Natalie, and I blog over at Corduroy Dreams, a crafty, do it yourself blog. I am a cousin to the Seven Sisters, and I am so excited that they asked me to be a guest on their blog today. I am a full-time mother to 2 children: Benson, 3, and Molly, 1. I have a wonderful husband who supports me in everything I do. No matter how CRAZY my ideas are, or how many times I ask for "one little favor", my sweet husband is more than willing to put up with me and go along with whatever I say.


Being a full-time mother is different than I expected it to be. Growing up, I always dreamed of rocking babies, having tea parties, baking cookies every day, and lounging around without a "real job". I never knew what being a stay-at-home mom really entailed. No one told me how TEDIOUS it would be! Don't get me wrong, I do my fair share of rocking, partying, baking, and lounging, but more often than not, I spend my days folding, sweeping, teaching, loading, unloading, washing, scrubbing, dressing, bathing, spraying, wiping, reading, and counting to ten REALLY LOUD.


I suppose I knew I would be doing all of those things as a mother, but I don't think I knew how often I would REPEAT those things. Sometimes I'll get the house cleaned and I'll go to bed at night, feeling like all is well, but somehow, when I wake up in the morning, I have to clean it all over again!!!! (How does the house get to be a mess when we are all sleeping?)


The days can be so mundane and at times it feels like I’m winding a clock I just wound… But, after everything is said and done, it is so worth it! There are moments squished in between the laundry and dishes that are so special and precious to me, that I would do a lifetime of tedious tasks just to hold onto those moments forever. That little "I love you" that sneaks out of a toddler's mouth at bedtime is worth scraping up a million stuck-on cheerios off the floor. The baby who cries for mom, and only mom when she is sick, and lets me snuggle her into the wee hours of the night is worth scrubbing (permanent) marker off the walls a hundred times. If I have to break up endless fights between my kids, the little hands that hold each other and protect each other from bullies at the park, makes all of my refereeing worth it.

The life of a mother is far from glamorous; but, after everything, it is truly glorious!
I cannot imagine anything more important to me than my family, and I feel truly blessed and honored to be their personal slave, their short order chef, their taxi driver, and above all, the crazy mother that I am.


This video makes me cry every time I watch it. So get out the Kleenex box, and be prepared to be uplifted.








“Mothers, cherish that role that is so uniquely yours and for which Heaven itself sends angels to watch over you and your little ones. Yours is the work of salvation, and therefore you will be magnified, compensated, made more than you are, better than you are, better than you’ve ever been…. There is nothing more important in this world than participating so directly in the work and glory of God. May I say to mothers collectively, in the name of the Lord, you are magnificent. You are doing terrifically well. The very fact that you’ve been given such a responsibility is everlasting evidence of the trust your Father in Heaven has in you. He is blessing you and he will bless you. Even, no, especially when your days and your nights may be the most challenging. Rely on him. Rely on him heavily, rely on him forever. And press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope.”
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

5 comments:

Judi said...

Nat! Such a fun post. I love being a Full-time mom too...even if it is a lotta hard! Thanks for the fun post.

Em Russ said...

nat, that was awesome! Sometimes I get caught up in all the stuff and forget to enjoy it (and them.) LOVE the quote at the end!

Rindi said...

Natalie, Great post! Sometimes I still think of you as my little cousin, but you sound so grown-up and "Real" in that post! I think motherhood has a way of making us all be able to relate to each other, no matter our age--we all know it's hard, and we all love it, and we all need all the help we can get! Thanks for sharing.
Love, Rindi

Tami said...

I can't wait to be a mom. I hope one day I can be a full time mom and not have to work but for now we'll take what we can get. Nat, you are one of the best moms I know. Your kids are so good and you have taught them so well. I hope I can be a good mom like you! (and like all of you other "Saga Sisters".)

Anonymous said...

Good job, Natalie. I, too, am proud of your mothering. I am also proud to include in the the club of mothers with darling red-head girls. Love, Debi

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