By: Jana Greene
So you’ve joined the club of Motherhood,
You have a sweet baby at last.
Your body still groaning from birthing your child,
Don’t blink mama, it goes too fast.
When you wake for midnight feeds,
Bleary-eyed yourself,
Savor the world where only you two
Are the world, there’s nobody else.
To every coo and cry and smile
You quickly become attuned.
Memorize those dimpled hands,
They’ll be holding a crayon too soon.
Before you have the time to think
Your baby’s a ‘terrible two.’
Hold tight, Mama, this too shall pass,
The trials always do.
Tantrums in the grocery store,
And before you can blink,
The Tooth Fairy is coming to call
It goes by faster than you think.
Milestones come rapid-fire,
Kindergarten’s here,
Drop her off at school and then
Go home and shed a tear.
The early years go by so fast
You scarcely have time to know
That your baby isn’t a baby now,
Who told you how fast she would grow?
Before you know it, she’s a tween
“Who IS this child?” you’ll say.
Buckle up, Mama, you’ll get through,
Tomorrow’s another day.
The next thing you know, she’s a teenager,
Full of angst and woe,
It will harken the days of the “terrible twos,”
Take heart, she has time to grow.
The early days of dimpled hands
And nursing by moonlight,
Those memories will see you through,
When parenting feels like a fight.
Oh to watch her find herself,
The pride in who she’s become!
Members of the Motherhood Club,
You’ve officially come undone.
The secret that nobody says
But I’ve found is very true,
Is that your baby is her very own person,
And not a extension of you.
You’ve nurtured, taught, and guided,
And now it’s her own turn,
To figure out this thing called life,
On her own (and very different) terms.
Now you’re a veteran parent,
Battle-scarred and rife
With sweet assurance that she still needs you
In her grown-up life.
Dynamics change, my friend, you see,
The stages never last,
But one day you’ll call your child ‘friend,’
Don’t blink, Mama. It goes so fast.
