“What surprises you most about being a mom?”
Myself.
My temper and impatience
How tired I feel.
How much I love my child.
That while I love my children, some days I don’t like them.
How being a mom brings out the worst and best in me.
How many times a nose needs to be wiped.
How much more I understand God’s love for me.
How wonderful it is to be called “Mommy”
(Answers from “What Every Mom Needs”)
The Mom Blog has asked us this question this week. And I thought it would be fun to respond.
I think what has surprised me most is how much they really follow our example. We have all heard the kid who repeats things their mommy says (and it always seems to be the embarrassing things), but I can not seem to get over how much comes out of Emily that I have inadvertently put in her. For example, the one thing I have always struggled with since Emily was born is my weight. Not long after she was born, I started Weight Watchers and went back and forth with that program for years. After a while if I tried to feed her something she would say “Oh mommy I can not eat that, it has way too many points”. A little scary I must say. I would see episodes of Oprah with kids eating paper to stay thin, and get all upset.
Now I have come to a new place in my life. Where roller coaster dieting is not apart of my life anymore. I focus on exercise and a healthy lifestyle. Eating balanced, normal portions, and finding activities that require me to move, and simply feeling good about myself and who I am. My thinking is towards my overall health. Now Emily talks about needing to eat her vegetables so that she can be healthy, and that she needs to go to kid’s corner ( A kid’s program at the gym I go to) so she can exercise to be strong.
I know how much words coming out of my mouth affect my attitude, but I never realized how much it could affect hers. If I feel fat, and say something about me being fat, it will come back around in her asking me if I think she is fat, or telling me she doesn’t want to be fat. It is a dangerous slippery slope of passing on poor self image. I have come to see that I need to not just build her up and tell her that she is beautiful to build her self esteem, but that I also need to show her how to carry self confidence in myself. To show her a woman who is confident in her own skin and loves herself flaws and all. Because, after all, she thinks I am the “greatest most beautifulest thing in the world”. If she views me as beautiful and I say she is wrong by my attitudes and words, how does she know in herself if her beauty is true or not?
This has been what has surprised me so much about being a mother, how much power we really do have to shape and mold, the next generation.
Right on! I never realized how much I picked up from my mom until others would ask me how what I did to stay thin. Do you know, I never think about it, I just do it. I watched my moms habits for so many years and thought that her lifestyle was normal. I am so grateful that physical discipline was instilled in me as a little girl. It made it not so hard to keep things in balance as an adult, especially when PMS strikes and the carb fest begins. Chocolate! Chocolate! I called my mom the other day and we were both “getting those couple of extra pounds off”.
I’ve seen Emily and she is a tiny thing. Does she say, “Mommy, you shouldn’t eat that!” I can totally hear her saying that.
That is so true. Our words do hold power. That is why I do try my best not to jugde myself on my weight in front of my kids. I think building up self-esteem is always best in them and also ourselves. My kids when they see mommy working out they too what to join in. And, we have fun. However, now I am doing things that require me to move a bit more. Like, today we went to the park and after my speed walking, I played at the playground with them. I just want to be healthy and them to be healthy as well.