Woes of Motherhood

To all you Mothers out there, you know those days when you wonder if your children will EVER understand how demanding motherhood is?? Will they EVER appreciate you for "just" being a mom? Well I seem to have those days more often as my boys get older. I guess I thought the frequency of those days would trail off a bit as my kids got older, but that's not the case.

Nate was out of town last week and I struggle with being a single mom. At the end of one of the LONG days, I put the boys in the bathtub, which they love. They usually take showers now so the bath is a rare treat for them. And I was trying to be nice so I decided to let them take a bath. As I got them in, I warned them that if they stood up or made big splashes, they were going to have to get out (those are the rules). So once they were settled in the tub, I excused myself to finish putting away THEIR laundry. A few minutes later, I heard hysterical laughter coming from the bathroom.... NOT a good sign. So I quickly finished putting the laundry away and I walked into the bathroom. And to my dismay, my boys are standing in the tub, taking turns hurling their bath toys and trying to land them in the toilet bowl. They must have been at it for a while because there was a huge puddle of TOILET water ALL over the bathroom floor! So, naturally, I briskly got them out of the tub, dressed them, and put them in bed. All the while I was ranting and raving about how WRONG what they did was, and that they have now lost their privilege of taking baths. They definitely knew I was upset, which was the goal. Once they were in their beds, I had calmed down and I gave them each a hug and kiss. I told them I loved them and as I turned out their light and began to shut their door, Preston politely said, "Mom, make sure you clean up that huge mess in the bathroom."

In that moment, I wanted to just pack my bags and throw in the towel. But... instead I just cleaned up the mess and retired to a bowl of ice cream. I know that I certainly took my Mom for granted growing up. But now that I am a Mom, I appreciate her so much more than I did then. And I hope that my boys "get it" someday. But I guess these experiences are all part of Motherhood. I don't think it's necessarily supposed to be easy. The good times definitely out-weigh the hard times. So as Mothers, we press forward, and keep plenty of ice cream in the freezer:)!