12/05/2024
I've been a mother for 17 years, and in a way, I am 4 different mothers every day. I have to be a "step-back" mom to Molly, as she is becoming a young woman. This means wanting to help her through everything but ultimately letting her navigate life on her own. It's raising my son to be an emotionally mature, chivalrous, hard-working, team player man. It's teaching Corinne to be a "you can sit with us" girl, and guiding her through puberty. And most recently it's being everything under the sun to sweet Jameson, who needs me and shows me how much I needed him 🥰
Being a mom is bringing kids to doctors appointments, dentists appts, specialists appts, hair cuts, counseling appts, sports practices and games, dancing, scouts, school dropoff/pickup, helping with homework and projects, signing school forms, making breakfast, lunch and dinner, grocery shopping, and making an Amazon order almost every day for household items we are running out of. It's spending countless hours researching and being an advocate for your child when there's medical issues with no answers. It's college tours, high school open houses, laundry, diapers, baths, and constantly going through clothes that no longer fit and realizing we need to buy more.
It's laughs, hugs, tears, tucking in bed, one more kiss, snuggling, and soaking up their smell. Its still having clothes in the closet from 10 years ago, and bargain shopping so that they can have all they need. It's usually sitting down last to eat. And it's doing all of this using every ounce of physical and mental energy we have to be the household manager, while working a job, trying to be the best wife, friend, and daughter we can be, trying to eat better, and take 5 minutes to put makeup and look semi-human.
I'm so blessed to have learned how to juggle it all through my mom Connie T. Randazzo and with God guiding me through every step. I would not be who I am today without her love and instruction, and without God giving me the strength to carry it all. Even on the hardest days, this role is so beautiful - knowing that your children have exactly the mother that they need. So Happy Mother's day to all the moms who share this hard, challenging, exhausting but beautiful, rewarding and fulfilling job with me :) I still laugh at the days when I used to say I was never having kids. I was born to be a mom. 🫶