Motherhood has always been this stretch.
First the skin, stretching tight and taut around the new life growing. And that baby, that tiny person already forming opinions in the womb and expressing them with every kick and squirm, every stretched out hand poking through those tight maternity shirts.
Grasping the brevity of newborn-ness and utter dependence, bringing home someone who truly can't live without you - that's the stretch of living beyond yourself. Because now, you are someone's mom.
And they will all refer to you that way. They will look right past you at church and in the store to oogle over your baby, and they might say hello to you but really, it's about the baby.
Then you become so-and-so's mom. People will forever refer to you in connection with your children and that's a stretch because you are still you. But you are a better you now.
Even if you don't feel it, even if you listen to guilt and shame instead of revelling in the fame of being someone's mom, you are better for it.
You learn sacrifice and you test the depths of grace and find it stretches farther than you can fathom. God truly does lead this expedition and you may grope to find Him in the sleepless nights but He is there. Always. There.
The timeline stretches in this straight and thin way and you will want to fatten it, to plump it up and make the moments stretch big and full, but it goes on into the future without a care for your concerns.
All you can do is gather them all around, all the ones you love, and have a protest right on that timeline. Sit down in the middle of it and stretch your arms wide around all your growing ones and let time march.
This is your parade and you're the mama and nobody can dare stop you from stretching this moment.
This post is linked up with Lisa-Jo for Five Minute Friday, a little writing exercise that I look forward to each week. We set our timers and just go for it. You ought to go for it, too. Click the link below to follow along.
