Before I was a Mom...

Mother's day was this weekend past. Last week I received a poem via email entitled "Before I was a mom" This tribute to Moms and babies everywhere has been on my brain and has had me thinking about just how much becoming a Mom has changed Michael and I. With each day that has passed since last Sunday I've thought of yet another thing that changed me/us. I can happily and honestly say that all of these "things" are changes that I would not give up for the world if it meant that my beautiful little girls would be anywhere but here, with me turning me grey.
For each passing day enriches me just a little more making me grow to appreciate the small things because the little things ARE in fact the big things and in time those "little things" slip away too.

My girls are growing more rapidly every day. I am completely amazed with just how quickly they do grow. Carpe Diem! il ya juste un peu de temps. (Seize the day! There is just a little time)

Here is my version of "Before I was a Mom"

There was a time where I was able to drop everything and run. I could meet a friend, go to a bar, go shopping alone... Now that I am Mom there are times where I do go shopping alone, rare times- but I find myself hurrying to get home or buying things for the children that I needed a small break from.

Before I was a Mom I probably couldn't name children's movies playing in the theater. Now I know start dates and jingles months before the big screen debut. The same goes for the latest toy, children's book or video game.

There was a time when I loved to sleep in. Now when I sleep in I wake up panic stricken because it is quiet and I'm scared of what I may find written on the walls, spilled on the carpet, soapy, wet. Yet when I find they're still sleeping I have to stop and watch for breath. Before I was a mom...

There was a time when I loved to watch the news. I needed to know what was going on in the world around me because it made me feel connected. No one ever told me that once I had a child watching the news would take on a whole new meaning and that I could no longer watch without sheer horror. What kind of world did I choose to bring children into? Before I was a mom I could watch missing children stories and be virtually unaffected- now they make me cry. I can't turn the channel because it is like seeing a train wreck and praying there are survivors. Your breath stops, your heart beats faster, you don't blink- you just pray.

There was a time when I could listen to any song I wanted, watch any television program... Now I find myself cringing at daytime TV when I forget to turn off the television. and only listening to Radio Disney because the music is edited for content. When you have a three year old sponge you do these things to save embarrassment because they just don't know that the catchy tune they heard this morning is laden with bad words.

Before I was a mom I didn't know what it was like to watch a baby learn to walk and hurt for them every single time they fell.

Before I was a mom I didn't read labels for nutritional content, check which country my produce came from or pay attention to the consumer product safety commissions latest set of recalls.

Before I was a mom I planned weekends around friends and social events not activities, nap times or meals.

Before I was a mom I had no idea how wonderful being a parent would be. I never knew you could love something/someone as much as you can love a bald, drooling, poop machine. I never knew a person could steal my heart before I officially met them. Before I was a mom I never understood the hell a woman goes through to have a child. I knew nothing of the heartache one can endure to be called "Mommy"

Before I was a mom I lived for My husband and myself. Once I became Mom I found a new love for my husband. A love I did not know came with being a parent. No one tells you beforehand that when you see the love of your life hold your baby for the first time that it's like falling in love all over again. No one tells you that your world really does begin all over again. Husband and Wife become Mommy and Daddy and it is a whole new world; a world even better than it once was and forever changed.

No one ever told us we would sit at home after our children were in bed and wonder what life was like before there were littles running around. No one told us that Friday nights at the bar would be replaced with take out and a good movie and that this was something we would look forward to. No one ever told us that we would enjoy a quiet night at home so much.

I can remember someone once telling us that there were at the least- three years of diaper changes ahead. I can remember cringing at the thought, but what I was not prepared for was the day I realized that diapers weren't needed anymore. A bittersweet day because this meant our baby was growing one day closer to no longer needing me.

Before I was a mom I did not know what it was like to have my heart living outside of me. I didn't know what it was like have pieces of me out in the world, how amazing it is to study small features and compare who those features resemble.

I can't imagine what life would be like without My Michelle and Sophia. Life is better because of these beautiful little girls, my world could crumble at my feet and so long as I have the Three loves of my life It's a good day.

Before I was a Mom...