Motherhood

One of the magazines I subscribe to is having an essay contest about motherhood. Participants are asked to write an essay and submit a photo that illustrates the story. The prompt for the essay is "What does motherhood mean to me?" Here's what I wrote:

Some days it's still hard for me to believe that I'm a mother, let alone a mother to twins. Being a mother is like nothing I expected and everything I hoped for. It's hard to believe that someone with such tiny fingers and toes can have such a big place in your heart. To me, motherhood means realizing that the imperfections are perfect. It’s finding joy in the little everyday moments. It’s viewing the whole world in a new light – rocks become fascinating, empty boxes provide hours of entertainment, licking the cookie dough bowl is a rewarding experience and laundry is fun again! Even though the chores take twice as long, there’s no forgetting the proud smiles of accomplishment on my twins’ faces after the dishwasher has been loaded or the clothes have been folded. I’m realizing that no one is going to remember if my shelves were dusted or my floor was clutter free, but my kids are going to remember all the times we chased each other in the backyard and danced to Raffi in the living room. I’m happily treasuring every smile, giggle and new achievement and storing them in my heart. Motherhood is nothing short of amazing!