i’m a proud mama when
I’m a young mom – younger than almost all of the other parents I know with children the same age as my children. I’m 33 and my daughter, the oldest, will be 14 in just a few weeks. Do the math…go ahead…I’ll wait…yes, I really was that young when she was born. Judge me if you must but it really isn’t necessary because I judge myself often enough for you.
When I made the choice to become a mom, I knew I had a great deal to learn and so I learned. I got a crash course and had many late night study sessions to feel like I had caught up. I’ve stumbled along the way and learned from by mistakes but the important thing is that I learned, right? and I learn more each day. It’s not that I think I am a bad mom but there are times I have felt inadequate or that I have or am currently somehow failing them. There are moments though when my children remind me that I just may not be doing such a bad job after all.
*When their teachers tell me how nice it is to have my kids in their class. I have never been called by the school to ‘discuss a situation’. My monkeys are doing well in all of their classes and most days like school.
*When they say goodnight to each other. It reminds me that they are not just siblings but they are friends. They even choose to have lunch with each other a couple days each week. This means so much to me because I do not have that with my own brother and I am not sure that friendship is something that he and I will ever share.
*When they come and talk to me about their days. This usually happens after dinner, when homework and chores are done. This is the time they have for themselves and they often choose to spend it with me. Usually they just like to share what happened at school or something cool they heard or saw. It’s nice to know that in a world that seems to portray and even encourage teens to be withdrawn and keep secrets, my kids do just the opposite. Again, this is something I didn’t have with my parents, I was quite the rebellious teenager…
*When I can see that the lessons and skills that I am trying to teach them are actually setting in. Just today, I went to help supervise as my little guys class made cookies for math. (They were given recipes and had to figure out what 3/4 of the measurements were and yes, their school has a working kitchen!) The little monkey is in a cadre of including grades 3, 4, and 5 and he was one of the very few kids who actually understood the recipe, measurements and tools involved and he took on a leadership role and helped organize his group. In that moment, I realized that the time he and I have spent in the kitchen together is really paying off!
*When they ask to stay up later to finish just a few more pages of the book they are reading. All three of them love to read and I am so happy to have help instill the appreciation for the written word in them. It is one of the greatest gifts my parents gave to me. It opens up so many worlds and opportunities. They all read far above their grade level and the only problem with that is keeping them stocked with new books to read ;O)
*When they say things like “We shouldn’t buy a new bulb for the fridge mom. It’s sort of a waste because we don’t really need the light in there.” It reminds me that I am teaching them lessons about taking care of the world we live in and that sometimes, if we cannot do the big things, the little things can still make a difference. We are not going to replace the bulb in the fridge. It went out a few days ago and they are right, we don’t need it.
I know that I can go on and on about how great these kids of mine are. I fell in love with each one of them as soon as I knew they were on their way and I fall in love with them all over again almost everyday. I am so proud of who they are growing up to be and sometimes that allows me to be proud of myself too.
I was 19 when I had Matthew too so I know all too well about being the young mom…