Lean

My munchkins. I found this picture today and almost cried. OK...maybe I shed a few little tears. I just can't believe how young they look here, and how fast the time has gone. I am feeling more than blessed today as they shower me with random hugs and kisses throughout the day, cover my bed with handmade cards and treats they have made, and try so hard to make me happy.

What an awesome responsibility it is to be a mom. It is heavy, and burden-filled some days, and then other times it is fun and filled with laughter. And that is the ying and yang of being a mom. To balance all those out. To have more of the laughter filled days, but be totally content with the days that seem to totally knock me down. And be ok with that. Not beat myself up for not frolicking in a field of daisies everyday. The older I get the more content I become with me...who I am at the core. I wish I could have had the peace and content I feel now at the age of 37 when I was 26. Skipped all the comparisons of other moms and feeling like I didn't measure up. I am totally ok with how we are raising our children. I now know to not set the bar so high for myself in a way that is totally unattainable. To give myself some room to navigate and deviate from the plan I think we need to follow. My most important job in this life is molding these little people into who God has intended for them to be. You can't plan that. You can't pretend you know what you are doing, because you don't. My job is to lean on the Lord so that we can help them navigate around life and what comes their way. I know the road up ahead of us is not going to be easy as we hit some of the preteen years, but I have to remember that it's not up to us to have it all figured out. Knowing it all doesn't allow us to lean, and if our children don't see us lean, how will they know to do it when they don't know the answers? Being knocked off your path is part of what makes you who you are, and I want these little people who have been entrusted to us to see us always get up when we are knocked down.

Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful, awesome friends I have in this life. God has put some pretty amazing mommies on my path that allow me to learn from them and watch them lean when heading towards uncharted waters. So thankful for each and every one of you.