By Wylie Farrugia
This past September, I became a mother. I vividly remember the pain that my body was going through to bring my son into the world. When I held his tiny body in my arms for the first time, I couldn’t comprehend the love that was to follow.
The initial moments of shock ended up lasting about a week. I was happy, but I wasn’t in love right away as people describe. I couldn’t believe what my body had just gone through. The realization that now I have a tiny human who depends completely on me for nourishment, safety, comfort, guidance, and love was a lot to comprehend. It wasn’t until a week later, that I looked at my sweet boys bright eyes staring directly into mine that I broke. My heart felt so heavy with a love that I had never known in this lifetime. I cried for hours, joyful tears of pure happiness that I was holding the greatest gift that I had ever received.
From the first milestone of his smile, to the many others that have followed since then that same moment of breathless love hits me like a ton of bricks. Although every stage has its challenges, those toothless grins, belly laughs and silent snuggles keep me going stronger than any coffee that you can conjure up. I remember something I saw online one time it was a mother that said something along the lines of “ when you’re having a hard day with your baby, imagine that you are coming from the future to enjoy one last day with them while they are still just a baby.” This idea brought about a new perspective of patience and understanding when dealing with the challenges of babyhood.
They say that you become a different person when you become a mother and now I know this to be true. These moments make me reflect back on my own childhood and how my own mother had felt while raising my brothers and I. She often talks about how it was, whenever I bring up a new little quirk that my son starts showing. I feel even more connected to my mother and all the women who came before me in my lineage after becoming a mother myself. Sometimes, the unsolicited advice can get irritating but I know that it always comes from a place of love and a mother’s past experience that may have made a difference for her and her children.
This Mother’s Day I encourage you to be patient. Take in all the joy. Take in the love. Know that this season will pass and make way for another beautiful season to enjoy. We are all doing our best, so be kind to one another, and lend a helping hand when you can to a mother who is trying hard to do her best.