This post started out with a different title: \u201cThings I Love, Hate, and Wish I Loved About Being a Mother.\u201d And then I thought, well, I don\u2019t allow my kids to use the word hate, so I\u2019ll modify that to say \u201cthings I really don\u2019t like\u201d about being a mother. And then I started writing, and although I came up with some things I really don\u2019t like (I\u2019ll give you one for each child, just to be clear: Marilee\u2019s 5:30 wake up calls and William\u2019s temper tantrums and Penny\u2019s tone of voice when she says, \u201cStop it I don\u2019t like it!\u201d incessantly), but I\u2019d rather record the moments that make me grateful for this demanding, rewarding, repetitive, creative, sanctifying role I get to play in our children\u2019s lives. So here goes:<\/p>\n
I love William\u2019s curiosity. He asked on Sunday, \u201cHow come you have those lines on your head?\u201d He then pointed to the deep groves that run in parallel across my forehead. At first I said, \u201cBecause I\u2019m getting old,\u201d but it didn\u2019t satisfy him. I love that he brought me to the better answer, \u201cBecause I\u2019ve laughed, and cried, and read a lot of books in my life.\u201d I love that he made me stop after buying cat food because he was so interested in the way the door lock worked. I love that he wanted to know what \u201croute\u201d meant, and as I tried to explain the different names for roads, he said, \u201cbut also the things from trees that live underground?\u201d<\/p>\n
I love Penny\u2019s perseverance. I love the pride I felt as I watched her run in the 100-yard dash for 6 and 7 year olds last week. She was the smallest, and she finished last, but she never stopped running. The day before, she spent 30 minutes mastering the \u201cshaky bridge\u201d (her description) on the playground, as she figured out how to move her body from one wobbly spot to another. She decided a few months ago to learn how to tie her shoes. Day after day after day, she works on tying. She ties my drawstring pants. She ties the laundry basket bag. She ties my shoes. And she makes incremental progress so that now she can form the initial knot and two bunny ears and is so so close to bringing them together. I love that she never seems discouraged but just keeps going.<\/p>\n I love Marilee\u2019s affection. I love feeling a little body nearby and then turning around to find her head pressed against my leg, leaning in for a hug. I love her peekaboo and kisses and her new words and giggles.<\/p>\n And I love the moments when I realize that this mothering gig is a privilege. It takes a ton of time. It means I don\u2019t get to exercise or read or write or see friends nearly as much as I might want. And it\u2019s easy for me to fret over those sacrifices. It\u2019s easy for me to forget that with every question from William and shoelace attempt from Penny and kiss from Marilee, I\u2019m being invited into a precious human life.<\/p>\n I love that.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This post started out with a different title: \u201cThings I Love, Hate, and Wish I Loved About Being a Mother.\u201d And then I thought, well, I don\u2019t allow my kids to use the word hate, so I\u2019ll modify that to say \u201cthings I really don\u2019t like\u201d about being a mother. And then I started writing, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[440],"class_list":["post-2403","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-family","tag-mothers-day"],"yoast_head":"\n