My mom and my mother in law have their own ways of keeping a home together. Many of the things I know about motherhood are things I observed from how they are as a mom and a homemaker. Their collective wisdom has saved me from a lot of stress and headaches, and I guess I will never be too old to listen to their pieces of advice.
I’ve been a mother for 9 years now, but I know there is still a lot to learn about motherhood. I don’t think there will ever be a morning in my life when I’ll wake up and think I already figured out everything about being a mom.
However, this will not stop me to seek ways to improve myself as a mother, because I am never a mother to myself; I am a mother to my children. Times are changing and their welfare is always on the line, and I have to make sure I am prepared to be the mother they will need at a specific point in their life.
They say a mother is a child’s first teacher, but children are capable of teaching their mothers a lesson, too.
Today, as we celebrate Mother’s Day, I wish to honor my children, the reasons why I strive to be better, and the reasons why I am called a mother.
Of the three, our youngest Sabina is the most strong willed.
Today, I honor Sabina’s firmness.
I asked her the other day if she wants to eat hotdog. She said, “No Mommy, I want egg.” While my other two children have more submissive personalities to eat what I offer, Sabina would speak up about her preference.
As mothers, we may think that we know better than our children because we are older. Sabina taught me that it is not always be the case. I learned from her that I should also learn to listen to them, and to respect the things that they voice out. They may all be reared by the same set of parents, but they are individuals, with their own likes and dislikes.
Of course, this doesn’t mean that I will give in to what they want all the time. As their mother, it is part of my job to make them understand why sometimes, they are allowed to do what they want.
Sabina is my everyday reminder that my children may have little voices, but they have their own mind.
Stella, our middle child, is our moral compass.
Today, I honor Stella’s consistency.
A mother is known to guide and remind. In our home, Stella does this job so well that even her dad and I are on the receiving end of her reminders.
If there is one voice in the house that will constantly and tirelessly remind me to close the door and turn the lights off, it’s Stella’s. More importantly, Stella never fails to remind us about prayer time, and to ask us before we sleep what we are grateful for that day, as part of our family routine.
Stella’s reminders greatly show her heart. She does this not to boss everybody around, but to tell us that these little things she reminds us of are the very same things we once asked her to do; she considered them important and kept them in her heart.
Stella teaches me that the little things parents do for their children don’t go unnoticed.
If I would tally the number of questions each of my children ever asked me in this lifetime, Seb would definitely win, not because he’s the eldest, but he just never runs out of questions to ask.
Today, I honor Seb’s curiosity.
His curious mind pushes him to ask a lot of questions – and when I say a lot, I mean it! I actually reach a point when I get annoyed by the never-ending series of questions he has, but I had to remind myself that Seb has a strong thirst for knowledge.
As a mom, we feel like we have to provide answers all the time. Seb sometimes asks me questions I know nothing about! There are times when he would even ask me questions not because he wants to know the answer, but because he knows the answer and he wants to know if I know it too.
Seb loves learning. I am fascinated by the things he knows at his age. Most of the time, I’d feel like watching a show when he approaches me and begins reciting something he read with, “Mom, did you know that…”
My son knows a lot but he never kept these things to himself. In all those times he approaches me whether to ask or tell a story, he shares a piece of his mind, something I find very generous.
Seb teaches me to never stop at what I already know. I must continue to learn and improve, and in the process, share these things so others can benefit from this knowledge, too.
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Their strong points may be attributed to what they observe here at home, similar to how I learned from my mother and mother in law, but I’d like to believe that my kids have developed their own personalities – and I don’t take credit for the entirety of their good behaviour.
They are their own, and I honor their individuality. I celebrate my children this Mother’s Day, and I will choose to celebrate them every day, in every way I can.
NEAT OBSESSIONS 