Out of the mouths of babes.
“Momma, get up!!” My four-year-old climbed into my bed and yanked off my covers. “I’m hungry for my bref-kist!”
“Noooooo,” I whined into my pillow. “Come snuggle with me. I’m still tired.”
“But I’m hungry! Get up!”
“I don’t want to get up.”
“Well,” she stood on the mattress and planted two fists on her hips, “you shouldn’t have this family, then!”
Huh. If that ain’t the awful truth. You heard it here first, folks.
If you want to sleep, do not have a family.
After years of midnight baby shushing, 2 a.m. fevers, late night closet-monster slaying and 4:57 a.m. eyeballs-on-fire wake-up calls, I do believe my daughter has a point. Sleep is not for mothers. In fact, a lot of things are off limits for us moms.
If you want peace and quiet, do not have a family.
If you love clean floors and smudge-free windows, do not have a family.
If you can’t live without hot meals, lazy Saturdays, dangly earrings and the ability to process your own thoughts, then sister, do not give birth to children.
I’m telling you. You’ll never be able to eat another M&M without ravenous little sugar mongers sniffing out the goods from halfway across the house, nipping at your heels, “What do you have, Mom? What is that? What are you eating? Can I have one?” So for the love of all things Cadbury, woman, if chocolate is important to your lifestyle, then definitely DO NOT HAVE A FAMILY.
Except on Halloween. Then kids are kind of convenient, with their “oh what a cute little bumblebee, let me give you this big handful of mini Hershey bars for all your cuteness” factor. You just have to snitch from the bucket when they’re sleeping.
But if you don’t like Dum-Dums and bat-shaped pretzels, then don’t have a family.
And if you can’t stand it when your face hurts from smiling and your abs turn sore with belly laughter, don’t have a family.
If bottomless hugs and kisses aren’t your thing and you’re convinced unconditional love is overrated, then by all means don’t try to have a family.
And if you want to hold tight to who you are and never change, never stretch beyond what you think you’re capable, never surrender your time and energy and expectations, and if you’re just not a fan of trusting God in ways both ordinary and unimaginable, then please. Do NOT. Have a family.
Because family life is hard. It’s immeasurable. It’s heart-wrenching, faith-wielding, and downright beautiful.
It will require all you have and return even more.
Except for sleep. You might never really catch up on that.
So don’t have a family, ok?
It just might transform your life.
And your arms can’t possibly contain all those blessings.
“Children are a gift from the LORD; they are a reward from him” (Psalm 127:3, NLT).
Yep! Family life is not for the faint of heart…but for the sleep deprived… 😉
Beautiful post!
Thanks for sharing!
So true, Joe! Thanks for reading!
You are SOOOO right! But, if you have been blessed with one and they all grow up and move on….you just might get blessed with grandbabies. And that’s another blessing altogether! Love your post (as always).
And you’ve been blessed with some pretty fantastic grandbabies, if I do say so myself. 🙂
“…and downright beautiful.” Yes!
I have four sons and ours was a crazy, wonderful life. They’re out there doing lives and families of their own now, and I must say, I miss the craziness.
Worth every second.
I can imagine I’ll miss it, too. Thanks for reading, Laura!
Really well presented Becky. You are so on with all your points, especially the chocolate-sniffing-out kids do SO well. Beautifully stated. Point well made!
Just tonight I tried to eat a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup and my girls – who had just had their own dessert – immediately asked, “Can I have one?” Actually the PB cups were supposed to be for family s’mores, so I probably shouldn’t have been eating the darn thing anyway. 🙂
Hi Becky … just hopping over from Beth’s place. You’re going to have a ball with the hop! Enjoy every minute of wrestling with those questions and then meeting and greeting those who come by.
Warmest blessings as you continue to write about all that’s important to you … and Him.
Hi, Linda! Thanks so much for popping over!
I totally agree that we might never catch up with sleep debt. After eight years of that and four kids, it’s become somewhat a lifestyle. Not that I still don’t hanker for lazy morning lie-ins! But yes, it’s totally all worth it. Love the overflowing blessings that as you so beautifully put it – our arms can’t contain 🙂
With certain blessings come a cost, right? But not one I’m unwilling to pay. 🙂
Now, I can’t imagine that you’d ever “steal” from your sweet darlings, Becky! And since we’re being all “authentic” here today, I’d have to say I stole a tootsie pop or Reese’s cup or two in my day! I do so love your heart and writing! Gonna be sharing this one with the Twittersphere! Hugs!
Well, Beth, since we moms technically purchase the costumes and chauffeur our kids house to house, I’d say a treat or two is simply defined as commission. 😉 Thanks so much for your endless encouragement!
I love this post! Dead on, if you like to sleep don’t be a mom. Of course all the benefits far outweigh the negatives. A good thing to remember as my twins keep leaving their beds to try to play together during naptime.
At least they’re trying to play together and not fighting. 🙂
This was so delightful – true and delightful. I smiled all the way through – and then I had to go grab my candy jar of M&Ms to eat along – the jar which won’t be full long – because the boys know it’s there and because they think it’s just for me, it tastes that much better when they take a couple of handfulls (and I so understand mini cadbury eggs – it’s a long time from April to April. I didn’t realize how about parenting – how deep and wide it is and grows us with beautiful things but also with those things which stretch us. None of the boys WANT to get up early now – but I sure do miss the days when they woke me up! Thanks for sharing your mother heart!
So very many blessings that come with a family. But it does change everything!
I really enjoyed this! Mothers do give up a lot, yet the things we gain are priceless! And hiding chocolate in our master bedroom closet usually works pretty well for me!
I don’t know what I expected but it wasn’t such a big smile on my face! This was a great post!
Having a family truly changed my life. I love that I get all the candy with peanuts that my son doesn’t like at Halloween.
Oh, wow. This is crazy powerful. I love it.
Popping over from Shell’s Mother’s Day post. Happy Mama’s Day to you – and I hope you get some sleep. And lots of chocolate, too. 😉
Thanks, Andrea! Happy Mother’s Day to you, too!