(my great grandmother, pearlis caroline kump nielsen, and her children lyle, Iris, and Myrna (my grandmother. she is the little one.))
(if you are reading this, please continue and leave a comment)
what defines a good mother?
this is a question that has hung over my head since the day i found out i was pregnant with ben. i wanted to be the best mom ever, but what does that look like? what do i do?
so i put the question to you mothers and yet-to-be mothers alike (men's comments are welcome) . . .
what defines a good mother?
is it how much tv their kids do or don't watch? is it how many vegetables their kids eat? how many hours per week you spend reading to them? if the kids go to bed easily and sleep through the night? is it how their children behave? how smart they are? is how clean the house is? how many homemade meals she prepares every week? how much laundry gets done? how in shape she is? if they know the names of all the apostle and prophets and can recite the articles of faith before they start primary? how do you become someone they love and admire? can motherhood be quantified? how is it measured? people will often say of others, "oh she is such a great mom!" but how do they know and why do they never say it about themselves?
i would love to hear all of your thoughts on the topic.
thank you.
I think most would agree a good mother loves her children. The hard part is defining what that means to you. To me, loving someone means accepting them, giving them your time and attention, showing them a perspective bigger then themselves, letting them fall and teaching how to stand back up. All the while praying like crazy that they love themselves as much as you do.
ReplyDeleteA good Mother never gives up. She strives to make each day better than the one before. She accepts her mistakes, learns from them, and moves on. She is a little crazy and most certainly tired. Still she does not stop. She may put her self in "time out" every now and again, but she NEVER gives up.
ReplyDeleteI found your blog from Tara's. Hope you are doing well.
A good mother is someone who has a perfect house all of the time-sike. Just kidding. I think a perfect mother accepts that their stomach is changed forever from being pregnant and is not trying to keep up with the Joneses when it comes to housekeeping. We just do our best. Just a couple thoughts on being a new mom.
ReplyDeleteWell, I am far from being a mother but I think a good mother is someone who loves their family more than anything, puts them first before the dishes are done or before the house is clean, she is someone who loves her kids and will always stop what she is doing to pay attention to what they need at the moment, she is loving and her love never ends. She is someone who is willing to show her faults and weaknesses to help her kids along this road of life. She carries the Lord's spirit with her to fight the desire to be angry when her kids mess up or make a mess (or poops on the floor). She understands that she can only do what she can get done in a day. Being a mother is hard work, not from my experience but from watching the wonderful mother's all around me. Britta you are a good mother, you are an amazing mother. I look to your example to hopefully be a good mother someday. I hope one day when I have kids that I will be able to be half as cool as you. I love you Brit, hang in there, I can tell it is tough and at times I know you don't feel good enough, but as an outside eye I can tell you that you are AMAZING!
ReplyDeleteI am Way FAR from being a mother haha but from what I have seen is that a great mother is a woman who understands the bigger perspective of things,so that when the times get rough and they will, she will see why things are the way that they are. She charish's the little things in her life;) Both her little children and all the little things they do that makes them who they are! celebrating them makes a huge difference and they can tell:) I think a great mother is real! she doesn't fake it! she can admit when she needs some extra help instead of trying to be supermom, but she can also step up to the plate when times get rough instead of giving up. She loves being around her kids because of who they are and the things they do that make them unique because they're hers:) She knows just how to joke around and make her children laugh, she's their best friend! She is a mother who sincerely cares and if that's her underlining purpose than everything else just falls into place and she will do all the things of a Amazing mother naturally:) I am So sincerely grateful for the AMAZING moms in my life that have shown me all of these's attributes! yes YOU Britta! I count you as an AMAZING mom! SO lucky to have such wonderful role models to look up to for when i'm a mother someday:) Thank you! Love you!
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