Things I Love About Being a Mother

Last updated on: May 11, 2012 at 6:12 am by Amy Julia Becker

Things I Love About Being a Mother 2012-05-10T23:14:35-04:00 Amy Julia Becker

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This post started out with a different title: “Things I Love, Hate, and Wish I Loved About Being a Mother.” And then I thought, well, I don’t allow my kids to use the word hate, so I’ll modify that to say “things I really don’t like” about being a mother. And then I started writing, and although I came up with some things I really don’t like (I’ll give you one for each child, just to be clear: Marilee’s 5:30 wake up calls and William’s temper tantrums and Penny’s tone of voice when she says, “Stop it I don’t like it!” incessantly), but I’d rather record the moments that make me grateful for this demanding, rewarding, repetitive, creative, sanctifying role I get to play in our children’s lives. So here goes:

I love William’s curiosity. He asked on Sunday, “How come you have those lines on your head?” He then pointed to the deep groves that run in parallel across my forehead. At first I said, “Because I’m getting old,” but it didn’t satisfy him. I love that he brought me to the better answer, “Because I’ve laughed, and cried, and read a lot of books in my life.” 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 “route” meant, and as I tried to explain the different names for roads, he said, “but also the things from trees that live underground?”

I love Penny’s 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 “shaky bridge” (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.

Marilee plays peek a boo

I love Marilee’s 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.

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’t get to exercise or read or write or see friends nearly as much as I might want. And it’s easy for me to fret over those sacrifices. It’s easy for me to forget that with every question from William and shoelace attempt from Penny and kiss from Marilee, I’m being invited into a precious human life.

I love that.

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