I sigh as I stare down at my growing belly. I am one day shy of being full-term but potentially have three weeks (or more) to go before I meet my baby. I’m playing the waiting game – a pass time moms know all too well.
How much of motherhood have I spent waiting? Days, weeks, years. So much of parenthood is spent in #. Waiting for the start of the joyful. Waiting for the end of the challenging and exhausting.
The irony of the motherhood waiting game is that it starts long before we meet our children. We practice patience as we hurdle obstacles that try to keep us from our calling to be moms. Once our babies are born, the waiting doesn’t end but constantly morphs as we embrace the next parenting challenge and opportunity.
How often have I wished away the waiting period? I don’t like waiting – being patience, enduring and trudging through. I want to jump right to the relief, the resolution. To skip over all the hard stuff in the middle. But that’s not how life works.
The waiting game: Embracing the blessing. Strangely enough, the periods of waiting that I hate have a way of transforming themselves into blessings. My experiences and those of others have shown me the unique role waiting plays in parenting. I can see the lessons patience teaches us and how these times bring out the best in us as moms and as people.
Developing patience. Patience gets a bit easier with practice, and parenting gives us plenty of practice. Navigating irrational kid thoughts and actions teaches us how to take a deep breath as we explain, once again, why mom knows best.
Finding confidence. Parenting challenges often center around a battle of wills – waiting out a tantrum, standing firm during discipline, nurturing independence. As we wait out the periods of inevitable disobedience, we often find a new confidence in who we are and what we’re doing.
Practicing mindfulness. One of the best gifts we can give our kids is unhurried time as they play, practice a new skill or share their thoughts. These moments teach us to slow down and be mindful and present as we watch our babies grow.
Becoming humble. Unexpected morning delays, sickness and kid messes remind us we’re not always in charge of our days. This humility intensifies when we try to map out our parenting journeys only to realize that our plan is not always the only – or the best – plan.
Building endurance. Often times the best way through a parenting trail is to wait it out. Powering through our kids’ challenging developmental phases builds endurance and helps us realize that we have more strength than we realize.
Discovering our purpose. When life’s events don’t coincide with our plans, it’s easy to feel despair. This is especially true when it comes to our kids. But periods of waiting remind us that something bigger than ourselves is at work, and it’s worth waiting for.
As I wait for my baby to make his or her birthday known, feelings of anticipation, apprehension, and impatience overwhelm me. What sort of waiting milestones will this baby introduce to my world? Will my patience “muscles” be stronger with my second kid? Will it be easier?
Regardless of what’s in store, I’m ready to embrace a new period of waiting that ultimately molds and transforms me into an amazing, powerful, strong woman. Join me, moms of the Twin Cities, in embracing the beauty of motherhood’s waiting game.
