before i became a – proud stay at home:) – mother

i was able to go to the movie and sleep in or stay up as late as i wanted

i was able to read an entire book without interruption.

i had an impeccably clean house. i never stumbled over toys or found chocolate or jam smudges on my furniture and floor.

i never had difficulty finding an outfit that was void of any spit-up or food.

i never suffered from “zoning out” from a lack of sleep. coz when I did sleep – it was all night.

i never cared about the content on television or how many graphic images were shown. i never counted how many inappropriate words were used during a TV program.

i never read the labels on food boxes and cans.

i never cut up someone else’s meat and vegetables for them.

i was able to eat an entire meal without having to share it or have it go cold.

i never had to train someone else to use the bathroom.

i never worried about getting immunization shots or regular check ups.

i never had to hold the hand of a terrified child at the doctors, while they received a needle. i never looked into crying eyes and cried myself.

i never felt so completely helpless when i couldn’t stop the hurt, and wished the hurt on me instead.

i never experienced such joy and happiness over the simple smile of a child.

i never broke down in tears at hearing a baby’s first word or watching the first step that a child took.

i never held a baby throughout an entire day – or night, for the simple reason that i wanted to be close to them.

i never knew a baby could smell so good.

i never knew i could sing or actually remembered words to childhood songs and stories.

i never knew all the “Barney’s gank”

i never realized how fast time really goes.

i never knew that I would want to change the entire path of my life to accommodate a child.

i never knew that something so small could make my life seem so much larger and important.

i never knew that one child would make me so happy that I would want to have another.

i never knew motherhood would mean so much.

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- paste-an trs edit ke versi gue dari tulisan Kelley Scarsbrook di Black Press