Lose Some Things, Gain Better Things

I see posts everywhere talking about how hard motherhood is, how stressful, how tiring- and I agree.

Yes, it's hard. The hardest thing I have ever done.

We moms give up a lot when we decide to have kids- but we also gain so much more.

For every night I have lost sleep, I have gained sweet cuddles in the morning.

For every day I have paced the floor holding a colicky baby, I have gained days of laughter and joy.

For every pound I have gained, every stretch mark I have acquired, and every hair I have lost in pregnancy, my heart has also grown- bursting with love every time they put another baby into my arms.

For every time I have felt my sanity slipping a little, I have also felt that feeling slip away as I laugh at something my three year old does.

For every friend I have lost because I just didn't have time anymore to connect- I have gained a friend in my adult children.

For every penny I have spent on raising my kids, I have received wilted dandelions from sticky hands, accompanied by a beaming smile on an upturned dirty face.

For every worry, and sorrow, and stress filled moment as I sit in the E.R. waiting for a cut foot or cut finger to get stitches, or as I sit waiting for my baby to wake up from surgery- I have sent heart felt "Thank yous" to the Lord for the health that my kids do have.

For every worry line, I have gained a laugh line.

For every hard moment I have ever gone through, I have gained countless hugs and kiss throughout the day.

For every stress filled day of homeschooling, I have gained the pride and joy of seeing my adult kids excel in life.

For every loud, chaotic, crazy day, I have received the joy of peeking into rooms where they all lay sleeping- leaning over and kissing foreheads as they slumber. Something they will never know, yet something I do almost every night.

I may have lost some things when I decided to have kids, and have a lot of them- but I have gained so, so much.

And the things that I have gained are so much better.