By: Lizbeth Guevara
If there is one thing we can say with certainty about motherhood, it is that each woman experiences it differently. And it is that motherhood is something so unique and different, that it is not compared to any other life experience.
The challenges, the joys, the effort, the benefits and everything that she brings, is something that nothing else can give you. For this reason, and on the occasion of Mother’s Day, I share with you a reflection on being a mother, because it can be very difficult but it is undoubtedly a wonderful experience.
The roller coaster of motherhood: challenges and rewards I will be very sincere and honest: motherhood is not rosy. Like any experience, it has its lights and shadows, its moments of immense happiness and also moments that make you question everything and doubt yourself. Motherhood is full of challenges and rewards that make it unique and incomparable. It’s quite a roller coaster ride. Let’s start talking about the postpartum, which is the first moment of “tangible” motherhood, because you finally have your baby in your arms. From my personal experience and that of dozens of mothers with whom I have spoken, it is undoubtedly one of the most difficult, confusing and dark stages of motherhood.
Don’t get me wrong, finally having our baby with us is an amazing and wonderful thing. But it is a period in which during its beginning many big changes take place in a matter of hours and to which we must adapt to them, accompanied by the wave of emotions that are experienced. Fortunately, it eventually ends and motherhood is not like postpartum. However, despite these changes, we have before our eyes the greatest gift that life can give us and it reminds us how strong our bodies are: our children. And there is no sunset that compares to that beautiful vision of seeing your baby feel safe next to you. And then, those babies begin to grow, and new challenges and new adventures arrive, but also new joys and emotions that only being a mother can experience. One of them is to know the most tender, pure and sincere love: that of your children towards you when they are little. There is no love as intense and precious as this love.
Of course, we try are also present, as well as other problems or challenges typical of each stage, be it childhood or adolescence, which can test our patience and energy. But despite that, the truth is that those little not-so-positive moments are just that, moments that are just passing through and then they leave, but love is still present.
And as our children grow and develop, other situations that are totally new and unknown to us arrive, which can make us doubt our ability to do things well and can even make us think that we are not up to the task of raising those little human beings that they depend on us. But yes, we are.
The emotional ups and downs of being a mother The challenges and rewards of being a mother are not only what we can experience when we have children. Also within us, we experience a series of emotional ups and downs that lead us to experience sensations and emotions that we have never felt before. One of them is the famous and annoying guilt. And it is that mothers feel guilty for many things: for going out to work, for following our personal aspirations, for wanting a little time alone, for feeling that we are not up to other mothers, among others. Without realizing it, we become very hard on ourselves, because motherhood itself can be very hard, but this does not mean that we are doing things wrong. But if we put those guilts aside, and focus on the personal and emotional growth that we have acquired by being mothers, we can realize how much we have changed. Surely many mothers will think like me when they realize that they are no longer the same as before having children, but they don’t want to be that way either.
Enjoy this wonderful experience Personally, although sometimes (or most of the time) I feel exhausted or feel like I have a million things to do, the truth is that I love being a mom and everything that having this powerful title entails. Seeing my daughter in the eye and smiling together is one of the most beautiful sensations I feel every day, and I know that I could not live without that sweet look by my side. Because even though it is difficult or sometimes I feel that I will not be able to cope with the challenges that it brings and it is an invisible job for the eyes of others, it is still a wonderful experience that I would not change for anything in the world.
