On Being a Mom

I've been thinking a lot about what it means to be a mom this week.  Big shocker there, since Mother's Day is on Sunday.  I tend to get caught up in the day to day, mundane world of mommyhood.  Sometimes, all I see is the fighting and the weariness and the 24 hours a day that I am on call.  And sometimes I forget why I'm doing it.  As I was thinking about this, I was remembering when Kelsey was born. When all my kids were born, I loved them all pretty much immediately.  But it was a shallow kind of love, a kind of "just because they're my kid" kind of love.  When Kelsey was born, she had a teeny little birthmark right under her nose.  When we were taking pictures, the photographer pointed it out, and I was a little sensitive.  I think in a way, I might have been a little bothered that she wasn't absolutely perfect.   Isn't that silly?  Kelsey is 5 1/2 months old now.  I was remarking to Jon the other day that Kelsey's birthmark had gone away, just in passing.  He looked at me kind of strange, and pointed out that it was still there.  I took another look at my daughter, and sure enough, the little red patch is right where it was when she was born.  How could something that had initially bothered me, not even be noticeable to me now?  I realized it is because my love for Kelsey has grown immensely in the last 5 1/2 months.  I guess I logically know that blemish is there, but I love her more than almost anything else in the world (along with Jon, Robbie, Emily & Adam) and I can only see her beautiful smile when I look at her now.  I think this is what being a mom is about.  You know your kids aren't perfect, but you love them in spite of that.     I have always said that I am so in love with my kids.  Yeah, they make me crazy.  And I could do without some of the whininess.  But I am so grateful that I get to be a mommy.  Because I love those little kids with everything that I am.  And that's pretty amazing!