I See You Mama

“So how many do you have?” asked the friendly Aldi cashier this afternoon.

“Oh just the two. And we’re good there.” I replied, trying to laugh off the crazy that just went down.

His reply, “It gets easier after three kids.”

PAUSE BUTTON

Let me fill you in because CLEARLY you know some fun went down in Aldi today.  You’ve heard of PDA, right? Well, in this case it stands for public display of attitude.

1st PDA – Multiple fights between my two and four year old over who got to hold the seat belt strap… in the shared shopping cart seat.

2nd PDA – YELLING for cheese crackers after I asked four times if they wanted some, while receiving “no” each of the four times. This resulted in, of course, no cheese crackers because, discipline right?

3rd PDA – Crying, pointed fingers, and “you’re mean” declarations because halfway through unloading the groceries on to the conveyor belt, they decided they wanted to put them all on there. Listen, those ALDI cashiers don’t play. They are FAST! I’m basically throwing my produce on the belt like a hot Lambert’s thrown roll just to keep up (if you don’t know what Lambert’s thrown rolls are, book you a trip to Sikeston, Missouri and try the fried okra while you’re at it. You can thank me later.)

Okay back to the rest of the cashier conversation…

“I have five kids. It really does get easier with the third.” he says.

My reply, “yeah, I thought we wanted three, but as of today, we are great with two.” That may have been grocery store mom calling the shots.

“It’s whatever your blessed with” he replies, with a big smile.

And here comes the message of this blog:

Mommy guilt started to commence…

• “Does this stranger think I don’t like my kids or something?”
• “Should I have left my groceries and gone home?”
• “Was I talking calmly or being a pushover mom?”
• “Why are my kids even behaving this way?”
• “Am I doing this mama thing right for crying out loud?”

Being a mom is the BEST gift there is and the hardest job rolled into one. It will make you feel straight up crazy. One moment you are in tears of frustration, and the next you are crying at the thought of them growing up because you love them so stinkin’ much.

Just like us adults, they are human. We have bad days. They have bad days. Sometimes no matter what our parenting tactics are, kids will simply be human.

We just know better to hide our tantrums as adults, right?

Here are some things I’ve found to be true during my [almost] 5 years as a mom.

• People will always have an opinion on your parenting.
• This includes people you know.
• This also includes people you don’t know.
• You get more advice that you didn’t ask for than you did.
• You even receive contradictory advice, like “be more consistent” and as you try to take such advice, be countered with “lighten up a bit” or “pick and choose your battles”

I see you momma.

Questioning your every move. Wondering if you’re too late to repair the mistakes you think are irreversible. Wondering if you are doing enough. Loving them enough. Providing enough. Feeling guilty for feeling frustrated. The list goes on.

Let me share some truths your way, this Mother’s Day.

You are the only one that knows the only combination of vitamin gummies acceptable to your little is one yellow one, and one purple spider one.

You are the only one that knows just how much chocolate syrup is the right amount. That perfect shade of chocolate “chip” milk.

You are the only one that knows your life will be in ruins if you forget to leave “doggie” at school, church, or anywhere for that matter. You never lose it.

You are the only one that can sing them their bedtime song the way you do.

You are the only one that can be their translator, for goodness sake. I mean, add interpreter to your resume, mama!

You get the best moments and, to even the scale out, consequently you get the worst.  But isn’t it worth it for the best?

You were made for this!

This Mother’s Day, I pray you take a deep breath and soak in the extra love and hugs given today. Forget about all outside opinions and self doubt.

I see you mama.

But more importantly, He sees you.

And He chose you. Yes you. No one else.

And that is all the opinion you need.