Monday, July 23, 2012

How Shall I Love Thee? A Countdown of Anticipated Mommyhood


I often sit and daydream about what I will enjoy most about motherhood. When I hold my son or daughter in my arms and love them with a mother's love, here are my top ten favorites that I dream about.


10.  Adoring the Cuteness. You know how when you see a kid so cute that you could eat them up? I can only imagine that is magnified tenfold with your own kid. The cute little cheeks and how adorable they are when they blink. I can't wait to get to love and adore each little finger and toe.
9.  Hugging. Oh, the sweet mommy hugs I will have! I will squeeze my little pumpkin ten billion times a day, I am sure.
8. Reading Together. This, actally, is one of the main reasons I want to be a mommy. I want to share all the wonderful books I have discovered throughout my life with my beloved child. From Ferdinand the Bull to Little Women to the Oddessy. And I love reading aloud. Oh, the bedtime story times we will have! 
7.  Sharing the Yummies. In the same way that I want to share my love of books, I want to share the foods I love with my child. I want to make them special batches of their favorite chocolate chip cookies. I want to watch when they eat something they don't like and then laugh together with great big laughs are their "yucky" faces. I want to give nourishment that will let them grow up big and strong. Maybe big and strong enough to join the US Olympic gymnastics team (yes, I was watching the tryouts for the US team last night).

6. Playing. Lincoln logs and games of hide and seek! I like playing with kids but I will love playing with and seeing my children play and have fun. The delighted squeals and the giggles, the intensity of building that tall tower of blocks, and the rosy checks from running, running, running! Just to see my child enjoying his or her childhood will be the delight of my heart.
5. Raising Up a Friend. I want my child to have good friends and to be a good friend. I think that this is one of the most important things I can instill in my little one. Friendship is one of the great joys of life. And so are the sleep overs, play dates, and camping trips that only become fun with friends and more friends!
4.   Dressing Up. Ok, I know that this may sound like I want a life-sized doll instead of a child, but I want to dress up my little one. Yes, costumes and playing superhero are fun, but that is not what I mean. I want to buy little Easter dresses (or cute little suits with adorable little bow ties), knit little hats and gloves, and put play clothes on little wiggly limbs eager to go out and play in the mud. I am looking forward to school shopping and buying them that accessory that only the cool kids have. I will try not to spoil them, I'm sure.
3. Having a Heart of my Heart. While this child will not be of my own flesh and blood, this child will be the heart of my heart. To be joined by that glorious thread of love that unites a mother and child. I know that there may be difficult work to form this connection due to adopted children's trouble with attachment, but I am trusting that God has this all worked out. In faith, we will bond firmly and strongly and he or she will know what it means to have a mother, to have a father, to have a family. In faith, I feel like this has already begun, and that my heart is in Bulgaria.
2.  Teaching the Love of God. As much as I want my child to know my love, so much more do I want my child to know the endless, boundless, perfect love of God. This is the love that casts out all fear, that can make the worst suffering shine with overflowing joy.  I know this love and how it strengthen, encourages, and gives prupose. I want my child to know this love that heals past hurts and gives hope for the future.
1.   Watching the Growing Up. I think that this is the number one reason I want to be a mommy. I want to watch my little child grow up and grow strong. I want to provide everything that is needed for this growth, and to love, to protect, to teach, to help my little sapling become a tall and mighty tree. I want my legacy to be that my children are healthy, loving, strong, wise, and true. I know they won't be perfect (I'm not, that's for sure, and the apple doesn't fall far from the tree), but I want them to be able to live life to its fullest, to love and to be loved by God, and to make a legacy of their own.

No comments:

Post a Comment