Pistos Parenting

To be a Mom. 🤍

A Mom will break her own heart in pieces and glue those pieces into your heart that is broken.

She will tie your hair (im)patiently and run back to fetch your favorite toy, even if it makes her late.

She will pull the feathers from her wings and lovingly add them to yours just to make sure that you can fly higher.

She will use her last bit of energy at the end of a long day to wipe the tears from your sad face.

A Mom is the one person who will always see the beauty within you.

She is the one person who will believe that you only deserve the best and bend backward to ensure that you get it.

To be a Mom is to understand that at times, you will have to stand alone against the world.

I only realize now why Cinderella's stepmom was so nasty and Mama Bear's porridge was always cold.

I only realize now why Snowhite was alone in the woods and why Little Red Riding Hood's granny so grey, old and sick.

Because the days of Motherhood were just too long and the years much too short.

And many, yes MANY days, a Mom's plate of food is just too cold too often.

Luckily there are silver linings, especially around much darker clouds.

On days you need to see that silver lining the most.

The price of being a Mom can be found in listening to the most precious of laughter of your child, sounding like water gently gurgling over smooth river stones.

It is the privilege of hearing a little human that you helped bring into this world, say: “Mama, I love you..” and you know it comes from their tiny heart.

I believe that you only grasp the true value of a Mom, the day you become a Mom yourself.

It is only then that you realize the power in a Mom’s prayers.
At times the title Mom also brings the deepest of hurt and pain.

But let’s be honest – to have a Mom and to be a Mom, is the highest privilege anyone can be blessed with..

Unknown
~Welcome Home

Motherhood is choosing your children again and again⁣⁣⁣
and again.⁣⁣⁣
⁣⁣⁣
It’s not being able to go out for that dinner with friends you planned because one of your children has a fever. It’s choosing them.⁣⁣⁣
⁣⁣⁣
It’s not being able to talk on the phone with a friend because your children are loud and wild in the background. It’s choosing them.⁣⁣⁣
⁣⁣⁣
It’s not going on vacation because it conflicts with a dance recital your child has been practicing for and has been excited about for months. It’s choosing them.⁣⁣⁣
⁣ ⁣⁣
And you may not want to choose them every time—⁣⁣
you may have been looking forward to that dinner,⁣⁣⁣
that trip to the Bahamas,⁣⁣⁣
that time to unwind—⁣⁣
but you do.⁣⁣⁣
⁣⁣⁣
Because the moment your baby’s born,⁣⁣⁣
you become 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳𝘴. ⁣⁣⁣
⁣⁣⁣
So, they come first,⁣⁣⁣
no matter what.⁣⁣
⁣⁣
Because motherhood is choosing your children again and again⁣⁣⁣
and again.⁣⁣⁣
𝘈𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴. ⁣⁣
⁣⁣
⁣✍️:

As a mother, sometimes I don’t feel good enough…

I’m not doing enough.
I’m not giving enough.
I’m not being enough.

I can’t keep up.
The demands.
The needs.
The constant attention.

Sometimes as a mother, I don’t feel good enough…

I’m not providing enough.
I’m not patient enough.
I’m not trying enough.

I can’t keep up.
The laundry.
The cooking.
The cleaning.

Sometimes as a mother, I don’t feel good enough…

I’m not loving enough.
I’m not caring enough.
I’m not there enough.

I can’t keep up.
The pressure.
The stress.
The guilt.

Sometimes as a mother, I don’t feel good enough…

But I love with all of me.
And sometimes, that’s enough.

Words by: New Adventures in Motherhood

It won’t always be like this.
I remind myself of this often.
To help me see through the hard days, but to also pull me into the now.
⠀
Because it’s true.
They won’t always be this small.
And I won’t always be this tired.
They won’t always need me in this way.
And I won’t always feel this lost.
They won’t always come to me first.
And I won’t also feel like I come last.
⠀
This is a season.
We will move through it together.
And it will pass before we know it.
⠀
It won’t always be like this.
And my heart aches as I think about what it may look like.
The first school drop off.
The last kiss goodnight.
The nights up late waiting for a call that doesn’t come.
⠀
Because life will be different one day.
And it won’t always be this tiring, messy, or beautifully wholesome.
⠀
It will be watching from afar from a clean house, longing for them to come home for a weekend.
It will be loving them through phone lines, messenger, and the kilometres between us.
It will be losing myself in something new, to busy my mind from what I’m missing.
⠀
It won’t always be like this.
Not the hard.
Or the beautiful.
It will be a different hard and beautiful.

We won’t always be like this either.
We will age.
And our relationship will evolve.
We will be a different type of “us”.
⠀
But this is my one chance at now.
I only get to love them, be there for them, and be needed in this exact way, once.
I only get to know this stage of motherhood like the back of my hand, once.
I only get this time as we are now, once.
⠀
This is it.
I only get one Motherhood.
And they only get one childhood.
⠀
This time is ours.
So I’m breathing it in, in all of its shades,
Because it just won’t always be like this.

Words of Emma Heaphy

My husband got paid today.

I looked in our account, and there it was.

Recognition for all of his hard work. The long hours on the job. The price he is paid for getting it done.

He deserves it, and we need it.
Boy, I’m thankful.

But I don’t get the same for my job as a stay at home mum.

I work so hard every day, and night.
I literally have never worked harder.
Yet mine is purely a labour of love.
My money invisible, like so much of my work.

But that work -
That all consuming, exhausting, relentless work that comes with being a full time mother -
It comes with a wage.
Just not the usual type.

Right now my wage is in the slower mornings I get to have with my kids.

It’s in the cuddles we have throughout the day.

It’s in the new firsts I get to see, and the lasts I may never see again.

I get paid through the quiet little moments we share when no one else is watching, and the chaotic days filled with so much joy.

And boy am I lucky.

No one hands me a check for being a stay at home mum,
But my kids hand me the lottery.
Because I may be broke financially,
But I am rich in heart and soul.

Words: Words of Emma Heaphy

You’re a child.

Your mother has recently had a baby.
So you now have a new sibling.

It feels like a big deal.
And you have a lot of mixed feelings about life these days.
⠀
Your mother looks so happy.
That makes you happy too.
⠀
She smiles when she holds her new baby.
Just the way she does with you.
⠀
But she can’t hold you as much any more.
That makes you sad sometimes.
⠀
Some days you want it to go back to how it used to be.
When you were the baby of the family.
⠀
And you tell her this sometimes -
When she’s with the baby,
Which feels like always.
⠀
“Please be with me”.
“I’m still here”.
“I miss you”.
You say without words,
Because you can’t find the words just yet.

And she listens.
You know she hears you.
She always has.
⠀
It’s just she can’t always come right now.
You are learning this.
Even though sometimes it feels like the hard way.
⠀
But it gets easier by the day.
You are learning this too.

All you need right now is for her to be patient with you.
You need to work through this new stage, just like her.
This is a huge adjustment for everyone, but particularly for you.
⠀
And you want her to know...
You love your new sibling.
You knew this when you held their tiny body on your tiny lap with her arms around you both for the first time.
It felt like that new baby belonged in your home too.

You know this because you want to hold them close, and your mother closer.
You feel this big love.

And you can’t explain it but right now something inside tells you that you can’t have one without the other anymore, but despite how hard it can be sometimes, you wouldn’t want it any other way.⠀
Because together feels better with someone else to share her with.
Together feels like forever.

Words - Emma Heaphy Words of Emma Heaphy

لا أحد يعلم الخير أين، و متى، و مع من،
"كُلٌ يُساق لقدره"

Just to let you know that what you are going through is valid.

Please don’t wake, not yet,
There’s more I need to do,
Like the washing, the dishes, and dinner,
Just to name a few.
⠀
Please don’t wake, not yet,
There’s more time before you’re due,
For me to shower, change, brush my teeth,
We normally have till 2.
⠀
Please don’t wake, not yet,
There’s more I want to get done,
Like drink my coffee, read, paint my nails,
My new type of one-on-one.
⠀
Please don’t wake, not yet,
There’s someone I need to see,
About nothing, and everything, uninterrupted,
It’s your dad, ok, it’s he.
⠀
Please don’t wake, not yet,
There’s nothing at all to miss,
The cat meowing, the car tooting, loudly,
It’s all for nothing, I promise.
⠀
Please don’t wake, not yet,
There’s nowhere you need to be,
Not Plunket, baby group, my appointment,
Just asleep at home with me.
⠀
Please don’t wake, not yet,
There’s something I like to do,
Hear you breathe, catch you dream, see you relaxed,
It’s peaceful watching you.
⠀
Please don’t wake, not yet,
A few more things and I’m done,
Scroll through photos, videos and albums,
All of you, every one.
⠀
Please wake up, wake now,
There’s something I need to say,
I love you, I missed you, let’s cuddle,
My heart is torn, ok?
⠀
Words of Emma Heaphy

My kids don’t owe me anything for my sacrifices.⁣⁣
⁣
It was all my choice.⁣⁣
⁣
I wanted to give my body to breastfeed and carry them.⁣⁣
⁣
I wanted to give all my time and energy to them.⁣⁣
⁣
I always wanted to put them first.⁣⁣
⁣⁣
I wanted to comfort them through many sleepless nights

and to change all their diapers while they squirm around.

I wanted to put aside some of my dreams to focus on them,⁣⁣

to be their everything.⁣⁣
⁣
Because as a parent⁣⁣
⁣⁣
I want to support their journey on earth⁣⁣
⁣⁣
and for them to know they’re never alone⁣⁣
⁣⁣
because I'll be by their side or, in their subconscious, loving them.⁣⁣
⁣⁣
And I want them to be happy above anything in my life.⁣⁣
⁣⁣
I love them that much.⁣⁣
⁣⁣
So, they owe me nothing.⁣⁣
⁣⁣
Because they didn't ask me to do any of this.⁣⁣
⁣⁣
It was all my choice.⁣⁣
⁣⁣
And I would never change a thing.

✍️:

Be always inspired to someone's achievement 🤍💕 Being happy for others is the first step to success 😉

Dear Dads,

Don’t wait. Don’t wait until she tells you what to do. Don’t wait until the dishes are piled up. Don’t wait until the kids are so loud that you can’t think straight.

Don’t wait until she looks exhausted. Don’t wait until she’s angry cleaning or quiet yelling. Don’t wait until it’s past dinner time and kids haven’t eaten. Don’t wait until it’s after bath time. Don’t wait until she’s screaming like a lunatic.

She needs you now. She needed you from the moment she woke up, until the moment she went to bed. She needed you to step in the second you walked through that door. She needed you the most when she said “no, I got it.”

She is tired. She is overwhelmed. She’s running this ship alone while you wait to be told what to do. She is hoping one day you don’t await her instructions, and you just do the thing that needs to be done.

Kids need to eat. Kids need to be bathed. Kids make a mess. Kids are loud. Kids get into mischief. Kids need help getting dressed. Kids have assignments, games, practices, and so much more.

Do the thing.

Don’t wait. By the time she asks for help, she’s already submerged in the rough sea of motherhood, gasping for air and hoping for a life ring to be tossed her way. So don’t wait.

Signed,
Tired Moms Everywhere!

cred: Jacalyn Wetzel