It feels like an eternity ago that I wrote
this post for my first Mothers Day. I look back and can't believe just how much not only Mr Oliver, but also me as a Mum have grown and changed in just a year. It's certainly been another full on year, making the transition from baby to toddler. I honestly don't know how to describe toddlerhood. It's crazy. One minute it's snuggles and sharing, the next it's head banging tantrums and biting my arms. Oliver is such a sweet boy, he really is - but I feel like it's a toddlers sole purpose in life to learn what the boundaries are and push them. Constantly...
Raising a toddler is hard work. I've never really been a huge baby person so I was extremely thankful (relieved) that we were blessed with a super easy newborn. He just ate, snuggled and slept. Even through the night - he might have been a rubbish sleeper from 4-18 months, but in those first few months it was smooth sailing. I feel like God gave us such an easy going little bubba because he knew we would need it - being especially inexperienced but also having living overseas, without having our families around to provide that hands on support that new parents need.
Raising a toddler however? It's been even
more of a learning curve. Figuring out how to feed and change nappies and swaddle and decipher cries is one thing, but trying to understand what goes through the mind of a one and a half year old - I won't lie, I find it challenging. I do love a challenge, but some days when 5.30pm rolls around and Mitch walks in the door, I feel like handing the kiddo over and heading out myself (which sometimes I do, or I lock myself in my craft room for a little while to unwind). If I thought I was ill equipped for infancy - well, I'm absolutely clueless when it comes to toddlerhood. Sure, I read parenting books and I ask friends & family for advice but half the time it's all just trial and error til we figure out how to make things work. And being someone who likes to be in control and know what I'm doing and how it's going to work all the time - it can be frustrating.
I honestly feel like Oliver is teaching me as much as I'm teaching him. While I'm helping him learn his colours or numbers or even just showing him how to maneuver a staircase, he's teaching me patience. Respect. The importance of prayer.
"Children are not a distraction from more important work. They are the most important work": a friend shared this quote recently and it really spoke to my heart. Being a Mum is the most challenging job I've ever had in my life. It's also the most important. It can be overwhelming at times but it's also so
very rewarding - it's hard to type it out exactly, but I know a fellow parent can understand what I'm talking about. Being a Mum is such a privilege, it's something I wouldn't change for the world. At the end of the day, I'm just so thankful for this sweet little boy who made me a Mum :-)
All that being said... Happy (belated) Mothers Day! We had an exhausting, but nice day. It had a bit of a rocky start with a mischievous Ollie and slightly under the weather Mumma, but there's nothing like some fresh air, a beach picnic and a random dolphin performance to change the course of a day... :-)
I hope all the lovely mamas I know had a wonderful day!
