Before I was a Mom...

Morifeoluwa

Was going through my mail today when I stumbled upon an email my elder sister had sent to me on Monday (I'm still wondering how I missed it). Needless to say the contents of the mail completely melted my heart. 

It was a poem for mothers and the body of her email said, "Enjoy being a mum. Fulfilment unlimited. Regards." I immediately knew I had to share it and proceeded to the internet to find the author and give credit to whom credit is due. Alas, most sites that had the poem had the author listed as anonymous except for one which said that in April 2011, Suzana Haertzen of Flagstaff, Arizona claimed to be the author of the poem, which she wrote in March 2000. Suzana, if you are indeed the author of the poem, I doff my hat to you, otherwise, I doff my same hat to the author :). 

I have copied out the poem and its attendant pictures from the site www.gabrielscorner.com and dedicate it to my daughter who is 4 months and 18 days old today. This poem captures the very essence of the emotions I feel, the thoughts I think and the actions I do without blinking. I love you my precious, always...

Mom

BEFORE I WAS A MOM

Before I was a Mom;

I made and ate hot meals,

I had unstained clothing,

I brushed my hair every day,

I had quiet conversations on the phone,

I slept as late as I wanted and I slept all night long.

Before I was a Mom;

I cleaned my house each day,

I never tripped over toys or forgot lullabies,

I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous,

I had never been puked on, pooped on, spit on, chewed on, peed on, or

pinched by tiny fingers.

Before I was a Mom;

I never thought about immunizations,

I never held a screaming child so the doctors could give shots,

I never looked into teary eyes and cried,

I never felt my heart break into pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt,

I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.

Before I was a Mom;

I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put it down,

I never sat up late hours of the night watching a baby sleep,

I never got up in the middle of the night to make sure everything was okay,

I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby.

Before I was a Mom;

I had complete control of my mind, my thoughts and my body,

I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside of my body,

I didn't know that having something so small could make me feel so

important,

I had never known the warmth, the joy, the love, the heartache,

the wonderment, or the satisfaction of being a mom.

Before I was a Mom;

I never knew that something so small could effect my life so much,

I never knew that I could love someone so much,

I never knew I would love being a Mom,

I didn't know the bond between a Mother and her child,

I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much.

'A mother is she who can take the place of all others, but whose place no one else can take' - Cardinal Mermillod

'Love has a name...Mother' - Suzane Johnson

#versefortheyear - Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord - Luke 1:45