One of my all-time favorite books is On Beauty by Zadie Smith. Now, the plot has nothing to do with my post, but I just love the title so much and that I think it warrants a bit of re-purposing for this blog post. A little creative license on my part:-)
My thoughts on motherhood. First, it’s certainly not easy. The day-to-day can get you down or, most of the time, leave you feeling simply spent. On top of your real job, you’re required to raise a baby, child or teenager into a respectable, honest, caring, empathetic, strong (of mind, body and spirit), smart adult. Oh, and it’s also your job to keep this child safe from harm, teach him/her right from wrong…shall I continue? I’m sorry, but all of that is much more difficult that launching a successful business, if I do say so myself. Every day, I question whether or not I’m doing the right thing. Have I made the best decisions for my children? Are they happy? (because at this age, their happiness is pretty much dependent upon me, right?) Am I the best mom I can be? Am I too hard? Too soft at times?
Through all of this hard work and doubt, I find beauty. I find beauty in figuring it all out for myself. I am, after all, trying to raise two individuals who can do just that – figure out how to best navigate life. I find beauty in the “time outs”. I can’t believe I just said that, but it’s true. I can sit and reflect, and sometimes chuckle (depending on the crime), about the lessons that I’m instilling in my children. I find beauty in the laughter that I hear from my children multiple times on a daily basis. It’s validation that I am raising them to smile, laugh, be happy, enjoy life. I find beauty in my son saying “May you please help me?” instead of “Will you…” I find beauty in the small things every day and I make a point to mentally celebrate them each and every day.
I hope you all enjoyed a beautiful Mother’s Day. I know I did!
P.S. If you follow this blog, you’ll get it when I say, “Don’t we all look a bit ‘whiter shade of purple’?” in that photo. (ha ha!)
