Tuesday, April 1, 2014

The Burden of Motherhood

Sometimes us mothers get confused. 
It's not our fault. 
We're exhausted. 
Emotionally, physically, mentally spent. 

Sometimes it feels like our children are burdens. Let's be real. They make doing so many things so much harder. Grocery shopping, making dinner, reading, laundry, exercising, sleeping, you name it, it's almost guaranteed to be harder with children. And by almost I mean absolutely. I often find myself desiring to do a bajillion things...but oh wait. I have a kid. I can't. She just gets in the way. Makes life harder, right?

It's easy to feel like children are a burden. 

Recently, I've had some clarity on this subject. My little Ainsley makes everything I "have" to do a lot harder....but all those things pale in comparison of how important she is. Ainsley is my blessing, my priority.  She is my job. Thinking children are a burden is backwards. Everything that gets in the way of taking care of them, those are burdens.

So when we're trying to finish a chapter in our book and our baby decides to get into the toilet, our book is the burden to taking care of our baby, not the other way around. Are you picking up what I'm throwing down?

It's easy to see this with things that are optional, like reading a boo
k, but it's a lot harder to see with things that aren't really optional, like making dinner or grocery shopping. However, keeping in mind that Ainsley is always #1 on my to do list, helps me have more patience with her craziness and helps me have more patience with myself for only completing 13% of my to-do list!

This is what life is all about.


7 comments:

Brooke said...

I REALLY love this post. And Ainsley is just too darling. Thank you for sharing your thoughts, as always Alexis! You are a gem.

Katie said...

Amen! And that quote by Elder Andersen makes me all teary.

Tara said...

I love how you express your honest thoughts and feelings! I definitely can sympathize with how difficult it can be to get things done with a baby! Love that quote, too. You are a great mom!

karajean said...

I love that quote at the bottom!

Jess at Just Rainbows and Butterflies said...

I just went to a marriage conference and they said to start looking at your weaknesses or challenges as your blessings. It's been a great mindset shift for me and made me enjoy these little people more.

Love this post and quote.

Jacquie Lyman said...

I can't even tell you how much I love this! Thank you for sharing. I know every mother out there would benefit from this reminder!

Clint said...

You are such a great mom! I love you babe!