Becoming a mother was and continues to be the most life-changing event for me. It's changed so many facets of my life. Everything from how I structure my days and spend my time, to how I shop, the pictures I take, the stories I tell at work, and of course, to the deeper things like how I think I am a better person now because I am always trying to be the best I can for my child and to how big my heart has grown. I love being a mother and I find that it colors a lot of my life. To my 'mommy friends', I'm not first categorized or identified by my profession, I'm just another mom. And, I have the same 'mommy problems' as everyone else with a toddler. What do you do about tantrums? Why is my child not eating/sleeping/napping today? Must be a phase? This is a funny contrast to when I am at work. There, I'm a professional first, who happens to be a mom. I certainly talk a lot about my daughter there, to almost anyone who will listen, but it's very opposite to being with my 'mommy' friends.
There are two things that I find hard to articulate about being a mom. One is how strong my love is for my child. Whenever I try to describe this or explain this to someone, words seem inadequate to describe the degree of my feelings. The other thing, is how I view my own mother in a very different light now. I definitely have a far greater appreciation for what she did and how she raised me, but again, words fail me and seem petty when really I look at my own mother and am inspired by her.
This year will be my second mother's day (if you don't count the one when I was pregnant). So much has changed in a year that is different from last year. My child is so much bigger now. She walks now. She talks now. She understands more. I feel a little more comfortable as a mom now. So, in honor of mother's day, I wanted to post about my favorite piece of jewelry for mothers.
I think charm bracelets are so cute and they can tell you a lot about a person if the charms represent who she is and what she loves. I think there is a lot of nostalgia in a charm bracelet. And, I think mothers are nostalgic people. Think about all the firsts that are documented. Pictures taken. Items that are saved. The outfit she came home in, the favorite dress, the hospital bracelet. There are so many things that can't be tangibly saved. Thousands of diaper changes, nights spent cuddling and calming, quiet moments spent feeding and sleeping, the first walk, the first word. I think that the charms on this bracelet represent a lot of those things. There are five charms on this bracelet: the stroller, the diaper pin, the bottle, the pacifier, but the center of them all is the heart that says mom. Because really, being a mother is heart. It is all heart and love.
