Hi there. This is the very first post here on A Simpler Motherhood. I wish I could put into words how excited I am! Thank you for joining me.
When I was dreaming of what motherhood would look like I pictured sitting on the couch with my children at my feet, hot mug of coffee in hand, playing and laughing with them as they built creative structures with wooden blocks. I dreamt of baking chocolate chip cookies with my well dressed children, all of us donning matching aprons, giggling and sharing a warm cookie from the oven. Enter real life and three babies later.
An insulated to-go mug, with a lid of course, is the only way to sip coffee with my littles around. The insulation keeps it hot and the lid keeps it from the inevitable spill. Indeed we bake cookies, but it requires a lot of patience and comes complete with a disaster of a kitchen when the finished product comes out of the oven. Flour and sugar usually litter the floor and half of the chocolate chips are gone before it’s time to add them to the batter. There could be a ‘discussion’ about who gets to lick the spatula and who gets to lick the spoon.
Real Motherhood is not what a dreamt it to be pre-children. It’s messy and beautiful and frustrating and exhausting and so full of love. As I have walked this road of motherhood, I have been pulled in different directions: organic or not organic, breastmilk or formula, sleep training or no sleep training, preschool or homeschool, Velcro or tie laces, cloth diapers or regular, when to ween, when to take the pacifier away, what pediatrician to go to, what activities to get them involved in, are they doing too much or not enough, are they saying words at the right time, walking at the right time, learning their letters at the right time? The list goes on and on and on and on. When I was dreaming of having children, I didn’t dream of making decision after decision after decision after decision. I didn’t dream of contemplating so much all the time. And so, I started to take small, baby steps if you will, in the direction of a simpler motherhood. I’m still on that journey, by the way.
A Simpler motherhood looks like sipping coffee (in an insulated to-go mug) while watching your children play, or even playing with them. It looks like making cookies in the kitchen, no matching aprons required, and allowing little hands to help crack the eggs and beat the batter. It looks like saying ‘yes’ when your child asks you to push him on the swing. Speaking of yes, it means saying ‘yes’ more to your kids’ creative or crazy ideas. A simpler motherhood looks like waking up with a smile on your face. It looks like taking care of yourself so you can take care of your people. It looks like date nights with your husband and coffee and conversation with a friend, even if it’s in a to-go mug.
Pursuing a simpler motherhood means freedom from comparison. It means less distraction and notifications and being more present with your family. It means being authentic, the mom God created you to be. A simpler motherhood means being intentional with how you live day to day, week to week, month to month, year to year. Because these days, they make up your life. A simpler motherhood looks like deep breaths of fresh air and grass underneath bare feet. It looks like red cheeked babies and picnics in the backyard. It looks like a stack of books piled high on the couch, you and your littles snuggled under a soft blanket, toes touching, bodies engrossed in the story on the pages. It looks like good days and better days and some days when you need to eat a piece of chocolate in the bathroom. A simpler motherhood looks like taking time to savor the sweet moments of this beautiful, messy, frustrating, full of love season. Sounds lovely, doesn’t it? I am on this journey; taking small, baby steps to make this time of motherhood something I can fully enjoy and appreciate. I am on a journey to a simpler motherhood.