Today I'm linking up to Lisa-Jo aka gypsy mama, who chooses a topic every Friday and writes for five minutes.
Only five minutes.
And the rule is that whatever she writes about in that five minutes is what she posts. No editing her thoughts.
Today, her topic choice is "Motherhood should come with…"
So I'm going to set the timer, write some thoughts, and then I'm going to stop.
Ready? Set. Go.
::
"Motherhood should come with" initially feels like a funny topic for me to write about. I mean, being a childless woman and all, I don't really have a clue.
So, I guess from my perspective, I think motherhood should come with a friend who is childless.
Why?
I think what a mom sometimes wants is for another person to love their child with extreme abandon. A person who doesn't put another child in front of their own as a measuring stick.
Because let's be realistic… every mother thinks no child could possibly be more amazing than her own child. And she's right. Every single mother is right about that. Every child needs a mother who thinks they hung the moon, and every one of those mothers needs someone who will say, "You're totally right. Your child *is* absolutely that amazing."
I get to be that person. And I love it.
When motherhood comes with a childless friend, you get to have someone to tell your woes to who won't tell you she has it worse with her own kids. You have someone to celebrate your child's accomplishment with, and the childless friend will think it's amazing because she has no frame of reference from which to judge it. You have someone you can share your concerns with and she won't tell you that you're overreacting, but instead hold your hand while you find out the answers.
Best of all, when you're a mother that comes with a childless friend, you have someone who will love your child with every inch of her heart. Completely. Because she won't have her own to trump that space.
I just want to say to all of my friends who are mothers…
You come with a cape to be your child's superhero. You come with a heart full of love that flows out onto your kids every day. You have a mind full of hope for who they can be in this world. You have a soul full of Jesus that pours into them so that whoever they do become will mirror Him.
I admire each and every one of you. I am in awe of you. And I'm so grateful that you let me be the childless friend you carry with you on your journey.
Because I wound up being the childless friend with a life full of children.
Thank you for that. It's been the joy of my life.