I NEVER…until I became a mom.
Today’s post is inspired by this week’s Monday Listicles theme.
Greta, from the wonderfully named blog Not Enough Patience and Never Enough Jewelry, suggested we confess ten things we said we would NEVER do but caught ourselves doing it.
"Who I Was, Who I Am" by Nomi Melul Ohad, first published in the book "Purple Leaves, Red Cherries"
Well, I couldn’t think of ten confessions but here is my list of ten things that ten years ago I could never have known, imagined, thought or dreamed.
I never knew that I could neutralize pain in my body, until I learned to give birth with methods of relaxation and my own deep voice.
I never imagined that breastfeeding my children would be one of the most satisfying acts of my life.
I never thought of myself as a woman who’d give up her career to become a stay-at-home mom (and then find a new career).
I never knew that I understood so little about motherhood before I experienced it.
I never imagined that I would trade living in a city neighborhood that I LOVED, to live next to my supportive parents-in-law (in their aging less-hip neighborhood).
I never thought that I would create a household where so many tasks are divided along traditional gender lines, so much so that my children think that the power drill and well-stocked toolbox that used to be mine (before I met my husband) are now “Dad’s.”
I never knew that my home would reach such levels of chaos that I would beg my children to watch TV (quietly please!).
I never imagined that there would be times, when time is of essence and when there is an intolerable lack of cooperation in the household, that I would use a sweet snack as a bribe.
I never thought that one of my kids suddenly refusing to eat a certain vegetable, which they had been happily eating for years, would irritate me so much (especially when I suspect that rumors about vegetables being “yucky and not yummy” have been passed around at Kindergarten).
I never dreamed that motherhood could generate such creativity, leading me to publish a book.
What did you never know, imagine, think or dream until you became a mom?
