Mother-warriors: The true heroes

Yesterday was a rough one. Robert was screaming while I was trying to make dinner, pulling on my legs nonstop, pinching, biting, pulled all of the garbage bags out of the cupboard, and had an explosive poop that got streaked across the floor. When dinner was made, I didn't get to eat it, because Robert was hungry. After Robert was fed, he refused to be by himself, but he refused to be with Daddy. He wanted me. I tried to eat dinner while holding him, but instead got teethmarks in my arm, and potatoes in my hair. I wanted to cry, I wanted to scream, but there was too much to be done to cry. The kitchen was a disaster, Robert now needed a bath, and a bottle, and I could have a breakdown only after everything was taken care of. When Robert was finally in bed, clean and asleep, I sat on the floor in our non-airconditioned apartment, sweaty, covered with grime, and spitup,completely exhausted, and I thought, "Why did I get myself into this...?" and was preparing for my well-deserved cry, when I thought of my mother, and my sisters-in-law, Mary, Emily, and Niki.

"How on earth do they do it?" I thought, how does anyone do it with one, let alone, 2, 3, or more?? I don't know how my mom has made it through all of these years with her fibromayalgia, hypothyroid, and many, many other physical difficulties and surgeries throughout the years raising us, plus having a job. She is a spiritual rock. She is the most amazing woman I have ever known. On days when she could barely get out of bed because of the pain, she would still make us breakfast, do my and my sisters' hair, and take us to school. I remember her crying one morning when her hands were too shaky and weak to brush our hair. Thinking about my mom, I was immediately humbled. I have none of the physical trials, and struggles that my mother has, and yet here I am complaining about how hard it is to be a mom. I thought of my sisters-in-law, watching them at family dinners, and how sometimes I just felt tired for them, with all their little kids running around, and yet they always seemed cheerful and happy. I suddenly felt grateful for their examples of incredible endurance, love for their children, and never-ending patience. Going the extra mile, and then some. My feeling of stress and discouragement started to ease. If they can do it...then it's not impossible. I can do it too. I am grateful for the mother-warriors in my life, and the examples they are to me, I hope they all know that they are sources of hope, encouragement, and strength that are priceless, and invaluable. I love you all.