What You Can Learn From Motherhood
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Editor’s Note: This post about motherhood comes from Neha who writes about happiness on her blog Happy Life.
It is rare these days for a career-loving girl to want to have a baby before hitting 30. There is so much to do that most of us want to live our lives to the full before taking additional responsibilities.
I became a mom early on and haven’t regretted the decision. In fact, I love being a young mother and would like to share how it has benefited me more than anything else.
I am not trying to advocate getting pregnant early here! Just trying to show that motherhood can be much more than just a load of responsibilities. I have grown and matured faster in the past 28 months as a mom than I have in my previous 24 years of carefree life. What I have learned through all this couldn’t have come through books or jobs. A tiny bundle of joy teaches a lot effortlessly!
You Become More Responsible
If you are an easy going college student or a day dreaming romantic, motherhood can truly wake you up. You become so much more responsible – not just to your baby but to yourself and the world. You know you must ensure that your little one grows up to be a good person. You also know that you have to take very good care of yourself to have enough energy for the new tasks. And you want to change the world so it is a better place for your kid to grow in!
You Become a Great Organizer
Admit it, most of your life you have drifted along, not really knowing what you want to do next. Unless you are a really focused type (lucky thing!), you still let your days be ruled by late nights. As a parent, this truly changes. With a lot of packing, scheduling and the million other things you need to do for a baby, you become a perfect manager. While most people think that mommies become pea brained due to all the baby talk, the fact is, mommies become excellent organizers, knowing the exact schedule of their babies and planning theirs around it.
You Learn to Appreciate Life
Young people have a daredevil attitude to life. We can be brash and arrogant, high on life. A baby teaches you to value each moment and become more profound. The child gives you a new perspective in life that makes you more giving. You realize there is more to life than romance, fashion and career. A child gives your life colors that are brighter than the lights at parties and malls.
You Become Giving
Life is not all about me, me, and me. This is one of the best lessons I learned. Earlier, I couldn’t think beyond what I want. Now, I never fail to keep others interests in mind. It happens automatically, really. You start with your baby and branch out to consider everyone around you in your thoughts. Many mothers volunteer for the love of it and I feel, a lot of this has to do with the new found loving heart they get. Parents just become more flexible and understanding.
You Become Ambitious
Okay, this last point, I had never expected for myself. Who would have thought that having a child can make you ambitious? But motherhood has ensured just that somehow. As I said earlier, I do not drift through life anymore but actually live it. I have an aim now and that is to be a good role model for my son. I do not want to be a sluggish procrastinator as my son will learn that too. I want to help others as I want my baby to be a helping person. And I want to aim higher in my career and life because that is what I expect my son to do. So, yes, now I have a many goals and a perfect motivation to reach them all.
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Neha S. is a mother, wife, engineering graduate, career woman and 26-year old MBA hopeful. She loves volunteering, writing and playing with her son.
Email this author | All posts by Neha S.
I’ll give you one more: You learn to fear.
When you have a child, you fear constantly. You fear they’ll hit their head and go to the hospital. You fear they aren’t growing enough, or they’re growing too much. You fear things like global warming and pollution every day. You fear they’ll be raped or mugged. You fear they’ll feel disappointment or have their heart broken. You fear all sorts of things that you never thought you’d think of before you had a child.
You are absolutely right James. I worry about my son facing the same scenarios you described! However with fear comes responsibility and you try to work harder to prevent anything that might hurt your child.
James, I’ve heard of Men With Pens from other bloggers and I love your site and your concept. What you said reminds me of what my mom always tells me when I remind her I’m 24 and don’t need her to worry about me anymore - “You won’t understand until you have kids.” I guess it’s true.
Neha, thank you so much for sharing your thoughts on motherhood. I sometimes wonder if I’ll ever be ready for children, but what you wrote reassures me. Thanks again for an awesome guest post