A Mother

"...admonish the young women to love their...children..."
Titus 2:4

I was one of those girls who loved playing with dolls. In fact, I think I played with my dolls until 8th grade! My sister and I would have all kinds of adventures with our babies. All through growing up, I couldn't wait to be a mommy. I waited all through my twenties, and then finally at 31, I was a teacher, I was still single and I had just bought my own house. I decided I needed to fill it, and my time, with children. I became a foster parent. I was tired of waiting for a husband. I could help these children, and I could "play" mommy.

I happily fixed up an extra bedroom, went to my foster parent classes, bought diapers and clothes and toys. Finally I got my first child; a 23 month-old little girl. Wow, was I in for a big surprise. Being a mom was HARD!

In all the preparation that I did, I failed to take time to think about what it meant to be a mom, or what kind of mom I wanted to be. So for the next few years I flew by the seat of my pants as I tried to mother this little girl and her sister, too. (Of course, the fact that I didn't know that I would get to keep them during the first two years made it difficult as well.) But, gradually, as I've been able to finally get through the fog of exhaustion and emotions, I've put some thought into mothering.

Here is what I want to do as a mother:

*see each child as an individual person

*meet each child's individual needs-

-physical: nourishment, sleep, cleanliness, clothing, health

-emotional: nurturing, love

-spiritual: self-discipline, Godly character

-intellectual: encourage personal talents and interests, learning, critical thinking

My Goals for Mothering:

1. Meet their needs with a joyful heart

2. Cherish and enjoy each child

3. Instill Godly character and values by living them myself

4. Create good memories with them

5. Instill healthy habits-eating healthfully, chores, self-care

6. Establish one-on-one time with each child

Sometimes (well, much of the time) in the day-to-day busyness of caring for my children, I forget how extremely blessed I am to have each and every one of them. I want to remember that they are gifts that I need to cherish each day. God has entrusted them into my care, and I have this huge responsibility to do my best for them. Thankfully, the Lord is always there to help me! I definitely couldn't do it without Him.

Now that I've made my list I need to think about ways to put each idea into practice. I have been doing a lot of this already of course, but I want to make sure I'm meeting those needs the best that I can. If I don't make a plan, I tend to float around only accomplishing the absolutely necessary-such as feeding them :). I want to do more than just survive!

If anyone is interested, I'll try to share my ideas for meeting my children's needs joyfully and creatively. And I'd love to hear other's ideas. Leave a comment with your ideas, or let me know if you would like to hear more about what I want to do with my kids. Thanks!

Coming soon in this little Home Making series: The Household Manager