This next entry is from a friend of mine who also lives in Provo. She recently sang at one of our music nights at The Awful Waffle and killed it! Aside from her beautiful singing voice Kensie has recently started a blog. [see the end of her entry for her blog description]
Since the prompt for this post is about what it means to be a mom, it’s only fitting that I
received my inspiration from my own mother. She made a couple great points recently.
She said, “There seems to be a lot of talk these days about mothers needing more time for
themselves to feel fulfilled. I do believe women need to do things for themselves but if it’s
all they focus on, they will miss out on true fulfillment.” To follow up, she stated, “To me,
mothering is not about the mother at all. It’s about those we are caregivers for. That’s why
we love our children so much… we love those we serve.” That, my friends, is what we call
hitting the nail on the head. What a smart lady!
It’s true when they say, “there is no such thing as selfless service.” While our intentions
may be completely selfless, there is always some sort of blessing we receive from doing
it. Motherhood is a challenging and heart-wrenching job, but I receive such a sense of
accomplishment from it. When my 2-year-old comes to me with questions and I watch him
learn his numbers or abc’s, I feel so happy that he feels comfortable enough with me to ask
and that he has a desire to learn. When I see him interacting with his 6-month-old brother
and making him laugh, I’m so proud that he’s learned to be so loving and gentle and funny!
When we set up his first big boy bed a couple weeks ago and the transition couldn’t have
gone smoother, that was a huge shock but also a proud moment realizing that my big boy
might be a little “bigger” than I realized. And then there’s my baby. When he learned to hold his own bottle or eat rice cereal a couple months ago, its proof that he’s already learning from his family. When he gives me a big grin because he recognizes my face or my voice, I couldn’t feel more excited that he knows who I am and loves me. So much of what my children do brings me a great sense of achievement because I helped make what they did possible.
I actually wrote about [our need to find time just for ourselves] not too long ago.
Motherhood can feel all-consuming and, if we don’t take time out once in awhile, we can
begin to resent our spouses and even our children for it. But my mom makes an equally
important point when she says “If that’s all they focus on, they will miss out on true
fulfillment.” There truly is nothing more rewarding for you and your spouse than watching
your children learn and grow and become wonderful little people because you taught them
to be.
Thanks, Ashley, for the chance to guest post on the Awful Waffle blog. My family and I
absolutely love the restaurant. My husband served his mission in France and Belgium with
Lance and he’s told me on numerous occasion that the Awful Waffle is the closest thing in
Utah County to true Belgian gaufres.
- I’m Kensie and I blog over on [Gracefully Kensie]. I cover all the areas that maybe need a little more attention in my life- family, home, and me. Under those categories are anything
from outfit posts to pictures of my beautiful boys and the activities we do to homemade
cleaning and beauty products. [link to http://gracefullykensie.blogspot.com]
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