Remember when you were growing up and your mother said she wished you would have a child just like you? And, now her wish, or her curse, has come true? Gee, thanks Mom! For the majority of us, parenting is one adventure for which life just doesn't prepare us.
This perpetual journey unfolds on a daily basis from birth to forever.
Although there may be nothing else in life more rewarding, it takes more time than our already busy life allows; more energy than a daily triathlon, and the patience of a saint to be considered an average mommy.
I'm not talking about the "Super Mom" here.
It's just me.
I embarrassingly remember now promising to myself and even bragging to friends with kids, "I'll never do that to my kids", or even more laughable, "My kids will never do that!" Well, the joke's on me.
My husband and I have four adopted blessings.
Jacob is five, a bright and animated little man who just started kindergarten this fall.
Kristy is my gorgeous four year old (going on 25) who would give away her last bite of doughnut and loves to give her baby brothers their baths.
Our identical twin boys, Caleb and Gabriel, arrived in this world weighting 1 lb.
14 oz.
and 1lb.
4oz.
respectively, born in a hotel room at 24 weeks to a homeless birthmother.
These little micro preemies are now 11 months old and doing great.
To say the very least, I earned the title "Mommy" more than I ever could have imagined.
Before I become a mom, my life was amazingly uncluttered, possibly self-centered and maybe even boring.
Well, that life is gone.
I wake up in the middle of the night to discover that one of my kids as stealthily snuck into our bed or to the yelling of a little one blaring through the baby monitor.
Since I'm out of milk and diapers, I come home from the grocery store, with strange items I know I didn't put in my cart and a few things I forgot because, with 4 fussy kids, who cares if we're out of bread and peanut butter! True confession, my kids do eat McDonald's french fries in the car; I prop up the babies' bottles on a busy morning; the kids sometimes eat chicken nuggets for lunch and pizza for dinner with no vegetables in their diet at all that day; but no matter what lies on their plates, it was placed there with tons of love..
! Sometimes I find it hard to leave guilt out of the picture when raising our children.
Time has a way of slipping out of my hands and not allowing me to use it as I desire.
However, I find more than anything after the day is over and we've tucked our precious bundles in bed, we can smile knowing if nothing else we love shared our love with them.
Regardless of the things I didn't get done that day or week, my children always know they are the center of my universe.
All my effort is to show them my daily job is to love them, provide for their needs, and teach them to become self sustaining adults one day.
If I never accomplish anything else, I will be proud to say that I am a mom of four amazing children.
However, Super Mom, I must admit, I am not.