Motherhood is Made With Love. A Perfect Love.

Recently my husband stared at our giggling toddler who at the moment was being cuter than ever, and said to me, "y'all must have fun all day."

A statement that I froze upon for a second because what exactly did he think the day was like? What exactly was I supposed to say? It had actually been a rough day.

My response was, "yep we sure do...most of the time, huh?"

I answered this as I stared at a toddler who melted my heart 24/7 but tested my patience once in awhile as well. A child that I'd give my life for; a child who wore my heart on her sleeve and a child who had no clue just how much I needed her. But like any toddler, she was also the child who occasionally makes me want to hibernate for an hour. Just for an hour, people.

Whether you're a stay at home mother like myself or not, we all can attest to the daily tribulations of being surrounded by a walking, talking, food throwing toddler for nearly twelve hours a day. Motherhood is amazing no doubt, but is it fun?

Well, it's the most fun I've ever had.

Motherhood is love.

Motherhood is made with love.

But motherhood is also far from perfection.

Motherhood isn't all unicorns, rainbows, coloring pages, cuddles and puzzles. Mixed in with all of that fun and sweet stuff comes the stuff that can wipe us out, wear us down and make us appreciate nap time more than a good glass of wine. Motherhood consists of fixing three meals a day, picking up food off the floors three times a day and fixing snacks about 20 times a day. It consists of constant poop wiping, pee wetting and diaper leaking. And it totally and completely comes with more stains on clothes than ever imaginable. It can include sore nipples, four day old dirty hair and the inability to pee alone. It comes with grocery store meltdowns, excessive tears and I say again, the inability to pee alone. Motherhood comes with sleepless nights from waking babies and sleepless nights from worrisome mothers. Motherhood comes with fears, worries and countless nights of prayer. Motherhood comes with hard, down to the core prayers with bruised knees.

Motherhood is made with love.

Motherhood comes with a strive for perfection but later a realization that perfection is impossible. It comes with ambitions and goals of what can and should be done.

You know, like limited television time and no sugar before age two, only to realize that Mickey Mouse can be a life saver and that sharing a cookie is easier than hiding to eat it. It comes with the need and desire to do what is absolutely best for our child and most in line with our beliefs, even if it differs than many of our close peers around us. From breast to bottle, cloth to disposable and babywearing to strollers, being a mother is doing what is best for that little being that you protected for nine months and will protect for eternity. Motherhood is mothering out of love, concern and care and doing what is right for you and your family. Motherhood is appreciating the bond of motherhood and realizing that we all strive to do what is best for our children despite our different styles, ways and beliefs as parents.

We may not all parent the same, but we all love the same.

Motherhood is made with love.

Being a mother is the greatest, most indescribable, heart stopping feeling in the world. It's the take your breath away and make you choke up kind of love. It's the love that makes all of the tribulations worth it. Motherhood isn't supposed to be perfect and it surely isn't supposed to be easy. But is it fun? The question that remained there in space as I stared at my husband.

It sure is

...

but no one ever said fun was easy.

But it's an imperfect, messy kind of fun.

Motherhood is #MadeWithLove.

A perfect love that grows and grows beyond measure.