How Motherhood is like Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
Ever noticed how much Motherhood is like Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland? Every time Alice thinks she has things figured out … everything changes. She needs to be small to fit through the door … only to find out she needs to be big again to reach the key. She tries to answer the Mad Hatter’s senseless riddle, only to become even more confused. And throughout her adventure she’s not really sure where she’s going or what she’s supposed to be doing there.
Just like the way a mother’s body drastically changes in many ways as the baby grows inside her. Then, after birth, just as soon as a new mom figures out how to produce enough milk, get her baby to latch correctly, and develop a feeding schedule … the baby is ready to start weaning. And then the mom starts childproofing for her crawler … only to find out he/she is climbing/walking/running. The mom starts to learn what foods her child will and won’t eat… only to find out the “list” has magically changed overnight. And the mom puts a pair of pants on her child that she swore fit just a couple days ago, to discover they know hang way above the ankles.
Moms figure out babyhood just about the time the child becomes a toddler; figure out toddlers just in time for the child to become a preschooler; figure out (somewhat) how to mother one child only to become a mother of two (or more); figure out how to handle the preschooler who becomes a school-age child; and I know that it only goes on from there.
Somedays I look into my children’s eyes I think, “Nothing is at all as it seems.” Just as Alice pondered while in Wonderland. I stare in amazement at my children, “When did they get so big?” or “Wow, did she/he really just say that?”
As mothers we wonder all the time …
- Why am I so tired?
- What am I going to pack for lunches tomorrow?
- Will the house ever be clean?
- Will we ever get caught up on the laundry?
- How am I going to make it to the big game … and the dance recital?
- Am I doing this right?
- Am I a good mom?
We wonder why we are so stressed out? We wonder why we don’t have it all figured out? We wonder why time is slipping by so fast?
It really is no wonder … we have in our hands … in our planners … in our arms … in our beds … in our home … in our lives … in our hearts the most significant and important job in the world. Taking care of a child. Raising them to be the next generation … the next round of movers and shakers … and most importantly the next parents.
So, of course we wonder if we are doing a good job. We want to do our best and figure this out … We become passionate (sometimes to the point of detriment) on defending our parenting decisions … (i.e. type of birth, breast or bottle, disposable or reusable, SAHM or working, private or public or homeschool, screen-free or screen-use, ……..). It’s because we care. We become defensive of our own choices because it is SO important to us that we are making the right ones.
Yes, we wonder if we can strike the balance the doing with being. Making special moments with our kids … Taking the time to catch our breath and not only live that moment, but capture it to remember it … to relive it again after the baby turned into a toddler turned into a preschooler turned into a school-age child, turned into a tween, turned to a teen, turned into launching into the world, turned into adult, … turned into parent.
So, Mothers out there, enjoy the mystery and uniqueness of Wonderland. Keep striving to understand. Keep exploring. Keep wondering.
Happy Mother’s Day
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Laura Hutchison
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