A Mother's Day Meme

I have never been tagged in a Meme before.  In fact, three months ago that sentance would have made no sense to me at all.  For all those readers out there that don't know, an internet 'meme', according to Wilipedia, is apparently "an idea that is propagated through the World Wide Web."

In this case, the lovely mums at the More Than a Mum blog initiated a meme in celebration of Mother's Day.  I am lucky enough to have been tagged by Mother.Wife.Me to take part.

The idea is to answer a set of questions on motherhood; so here it goes!  I have tried to be completely honest.

Describe motherhood in three words

Difficult.  Rewarding.  Incredible.


Does your experience differ from your mother's?  How?

Yes, definitely.  My mother had me when she was 23 years old, almost 10 years younger than when I had my first child.  I think she probably had more energy as a result.

And she had me in the 70s, when a lot of baby advice was very different.  For example; feeding was strictly four-hourly back then.  These days the advice varies considerably between health professional, with advice flexing depending on the age of the baby, their weight and health.  When initially breastfeeding some say two-hourly is appropriate.  The raft of advice from family, friends, the internet and books supplementing and often conflicting with that of your particular health visitor, makes it a confusing time to raise your first child.  My impression is that it was a lot more straight forward in the 70s.  Sometimes too many cooks spoil the broth.

What's the hardest thing about being a mum?

The responsibility.  It's no longer just about keeping yourself safe from harm.  Now it's about protecting another being.  Not only protecting them, but also bringing them up correctly.  Trying to ensure they grow up to be responsible, curteous, unselfish, polite, happy, energetic and able to look after themselves.

If I think about it too much, the responsibility freaks me out!

What's the best thing?

Seeing their joy.  When they smile at me it's the best feeling in the world.

How has it changed you?

Immeasurably for the better.  I now hold reserves of patience I never envisaged being possible.  I am less selfish, more relaxed, more tired (but in a nice way) and I finally understand what I put my parents through!  You don't know until you have your own children.

What do you hope for your children?

That they will by happy and contended.  I hope we manage to bring them up as well as my parents did me.

What do you fear for them?

I fear that human's aren't learning from our mistakes.  I fear that human's need to constantly use violence to solve problems will have catastrophic consequences.  And I fear that the planet may well be fed up with us sooner than we'd like to think.

More locally; I fear that I won't be able to teach them some lessons.  That I'll have to sit back and watch them learn for themselves, sometimes painfully.  And I hope I can be there for them whenever they need me.

What makes it all worthwhile?

 Their smiles. And their hugs; when they hold me so tight and I don't want them to let go!


And there we go!

And so, I understand I now have to tag five others, who tag five more in turn and so on.  Don't forget to come back to this page and let me know how you've got on!

I tag:

Emma Lee-Potter at A House with no Name
Jo at Slummy Single Mummy
Laura at Chez Mummy
Jules at Mummy Needs Coffee
Mum of all Trades