Mama, come out from under the bed

This week has been smelly, literally. My husband and I have both had the flu and my son has been teething so much I thought an extra appendage should break through his gums. I washed the white load three times because I just kept forgetting it and leaving it in the washer until it smelled. My dishes were strategically piled in the sink and the rags smelled gross. {I purposefully tried not to smell when I went near the sink.} Gross. But nevertheless, reality.

It is times like these, and any time when stresses are high and energy low, that I often feel my mothering abilities are sub par, at best. I feel wholly inadequate in comparison to the task. I focus on all the things I’m doing that I don’t like and completely dismiss the little, but monumentally important things I do well each day.

Each day I hug my boy,
I kiss him softly,
I whisper “I love you” into his impressionable ears.

Each day I think about how I could make him smile,
How I could make him feel cared for,
How I could make his day.

Each day I get on the ground and am my son’s playmate,
his best bud.

Each day, I strive to fulfill his need to simply be loved.
No questions asked, no prerequisites needed.
My love is free and that is the greatest gift.

I know the things I do, and my love for my family are not unique to me. I see so many others, you, loving fully, acting selflessly, and living kindly all the time. It inspires me to keep going and to be more loving myself.

“Love begins at home, and it is not how much we do… but how much love we put into that action.”

– Mother Teresa

So keep it up, my friend. Keep doing those little things that you feel are nothing. Keep kissing those chubby cheeks and reading the same book 20 times; keep washing the same load 3 times and picking up odds and ends strewn across the floor; keep spraying Febreeze and airing out the house; keep snuggling late into the night and sleeping with a kink in your neck, because it really does matter.

It shows you care.

So come out from under the bed, Mama. Show your face, because you’re doing a fabulous job. As mom’s we may not do everything we ever hoped and we may not raise the next Einstein, but we can raise a child who knows how to love, because they’ve been loved–and that is powerful.

“If you want to bring happiness to the whole world, go home and love your family.”

– Mother Teresa