Till you become a mother, your life is busy with so many
things, your job, your friends, your relationships, your hobbies, your
interests. Your mind is completely occupied by so many things revolving around
you. Everything is more or less about YOU. But, when you become a mother
everything is no longer about you, it is about someone who is more important
than you, even more than your own self.
Even for a mother it is extremely hard to tell how much she
loves her child. It’s impossible to quantify, yet safe to say that a mother
loves her children enough to consider everything else secondary in comparison
to the primary love of her life, including her partner and herself. Everything
that she loved earlier becomes a little less important than her precious baby.
I see many mothers around me and I know that they have put their child ahead of
everything else, some have even sacrificed their aspirations to be the best
mother that they can be. For many, becoming a mom is an achievement in itself,
a realization of a dream.
Mothers may sometimes complain about their changed body, the
sleepless nights, the endless toy picking, the constant running around, dealing
with tantrums, the flu and fever days and the list goes on. But, if you ask her
if she would have it any other way and go back to her old life, I am sure the
answer is going to be a definite ‘NO’. Because she knows that one smile, one
hug or a few sweet words from her child are the best things in the world. Once
you become a mother, you are always a mother and you don’t want to imagine a life
without your kids. With experience you become a better mother, sometimes you
struggle, sometimes you falter but mostly you learn. As the child grows, so
does the mother.
Once you give birth, you are more of a mother and a little
less of everything else you were earlier. Sometimes, you are a little less of the
daughter, wife, friend and employee you used to be to make space for the mother
in you. Also, you learn to be a little less impatient, less selfish, less
angry, less anxious, and at times less social (at least initially). Yet, you
are so much more than what you used to be earlier. Your understanding of
relationships, love, feelings and emotions deepen. Your life feels so much
richer to have gained an all new meaning, as you learn what it really means to
have your heart beat outside your body, to love someone more than words can
describe and more than the mind can imagine, to care for someone so much that
you want to bear their share of pain to see them smile. When you feel all this
and more…you know you are madly in love…you know you are a MOTHER!
“Being a mother is
learning about strengths you didn’t know you had, and dealing with fears you didn’t
know existed”
–
Linda Wooten
