Around the World in 80 Clicks

I love this. I first read about it this morning, here on Tiny Happy, my favourite blog ever. It's a kind of tour around the world, through the eyes of mothers. Each one writes 5 things they love, or maybe don't love so much, about being a mother. Here's my contribution.

1. I love that becoming a mother showed me how resilient and brave I could be. I've gone from being someone who freaked out about having a blood test to a much stronger woman who's been through a massive hemorrhage, post natal depression, years of sleep deprivation... For me, motherhood kind of opened up the boundaries of extreme. Showed me how bad things could get, but also how good. From the agony of labour to the joy of seeing your baby smile for the first time, becoming a mother has widened my range of experiences.

2. The sharing of ideas, the empathy, the understanding, the support... The connection to other mothers is amazing, and was one of the unexpected joys of motherhood, for me.

3. One thing I dislike about motherhood is sleep deprivation. neither of my children have ever been huge fans of sleeping. A night of unbroken sleep is a major gift to me, and a rare occurrence. I am tired. Getting up in the night and early in the morning has taken a lot of adjustment!

4. Becoming a mother made me a better Early Childhood Teacher. Teaching is my passion and I thought I was pretty good at it... but when Isla was born, it gave me a whole new understanding of just how precious those children in my care were, how much of a responsibility I had to them and their families, and how trusting those parents were to leave their babies with me. All the theory I had learned was futile in comparison to the actual experience.I became more sympathetic, more patient, more gentle and more holistic in my approach to teaching.

5. I love the inspiration, the constant inspiration my children provide me with. They make me want to sew fairy dresses, make banana cakes, blow bubbles, look at clouds, sew quilts, make scrapbooks, take photos, write stories, sing songs, dance around, go for walks... Really live.

I could never thank them enough for all that they've given me.