ATTENTION YOUNG MOMS

I’m so excited to start a new feature for Mama Monday – Mama Honesty!

Let’s be honest, motherhood is hard, it’s messy, it’s downright exhausting and yet the most amazingly rewarding job ever! Emotional combo right? So this feature is a space for  honesty about this crazy journey, no judgment, just different views and stories from Mama’s of all walks of life.

Being as it is the kick off of June Dairy Month I wanted to feature some other awesome Dairy Mama’s that I greatly admire. Privledged to be sharing this first post from Diane – A Farm Wife.

ATTENTION YOUNG MOMS – from Someone on the Other Side

To all you young moms, I have been where you are now and have come out the other side. I have a few words to encourage you and fortify you. You are so important to this world. You may never know your impact until heaven but I want to encourage you.

Here is a note I received today from one of my son’s friends that have been part of our lives:

I can’t say enough to how much I appreciate you. You’ve been more of a
mother to me than my own at times. Teaching me to be a Godly man and to
reach out to Jesus in all things. I love you! Happy Mother’s Day!!

I hesitate to share this because I don’t want anyone to see it as bragging. This is to encourage you.

Here are 10 simple things I learned from my walk through mother hood. I thought they might be an encouragement.

1. Let them occasionally eat cake for breakfast. It won’t kill them.
   Make them eggs and toast and then give them the cake. Make mornings special.

 

2. Allow them to wear their ratty shoes and miss matched clothes to school. On special occasions it’s your turn to pick.
   Pick your battles. Let them learn at an early age to be themselves and not to try to impress others.

 

3. Your house should be the house the kids come home to with their friends. Make it a fun place to be.
   There will be children that don’t have a good family or parents that work too much or don’t know how to love. Every child needs to feel special. I wish I could calculate the hours spent around the kitchen table eating cookies and talking about Jesus. You will never know the outcome until you hit heaven’s floor.

 

4. Allow some “slightly disrespectfulness” when the kids come home from school. They work all day to follow the rules and it can be overwhelming. They need a safe place to let it out – without crossing the lines.
   You will have to be the judge as to where the line is, but they need a place to just be.

 

5. Time should be spent playing with blocks, coloring, playing “I Spy”, play dough, baking cookies, building forts, target practice, setting animal traps (4 boys have taught me a thing or two) and whatever else you can imagine. You can clean your house after they’ve grown up.
   You don’t have to live in a pigsty and the kids should help pick up after themselves, but your house should never have more importance than your kids.

 

6. Give words of encouragement. Tell them what you like about them.
   Don’t make it about what they do, make it about their character and who they are.

 

7. Never stop hugging. Even the kids they bring home.
   They may go through a stage where they don’t like it or at least act like they don’t like it. Hug them anyway.

 

8. Pay attention when they come into the room. Stop what you are doing. Look at them eyeball to eyeball.
   Even now with my wigglies when they come over, I stop, drop and swoop in for hugs and celebrate their presence.

 

9. Show respect and expect respect.

 

10. Never stop praying for them.
    The last thing my kids heard as they were leaving for the day other than “love you” was me praying for them, their day, their friends, and their future. And while I don’t verbally
    pray with them daily, I pray for them daily.

Enjoy your children. In a blink they will be grown.

You will have memories to keep you company. Make sure they are good ones.

 

Beautiful reminders from Diane. I know I definitely feel as a young mother that the days can be SO long and yet the years seem to fly by!I hope you’ve enjoyed this kick off of Mama Honesty! Be sure to follow along with Diane on her blog and facebook!

Diane: “After successfully raising four somewhat normal sons, and being married to the same wonderful farmer for over 41 years, I felt a duty to give back to motherhood and life in general. Thus, the random ramblings of A Farm Wife. My hope is that they will encourage, cheer and inspire others to keep on keeping on. Life is full of cooking, baking, friends, being grama to 8 of the best. Living on a dairy farm is great fodder for ramblings and will be referenced frequently. Working part-time at my church in the bookstore and being the glorified “go-fer” for the farm keeps life interesting. I love my family, my life and my God.”

Diane originally posted this on her blog and it has been republished with her permission. All works and pictures of quest contributors are their own and are not to be reproduced with out permission.