Am I Ready To Be A Mommy?
Posted: September 15, 2011 at 7:03 pmIf you're looking for a quick and delicious dinner (or lunch) idea, boy do I have a good one for you.
You know me and my special devotion to sandwiches. I think this sandwich blew any other sandwich I have created out of the water. Even my simple hummus and tomato grilled cheese. It may not look like it after the panini press smooshed it down, but that sandwich has goodness packed inside.
I took two pieces of whole wheat bakery bread (love the grainy/seedy crunch on the crust!) and slathered them with pesto. Then, I chopped up some fresh basil and spread it evenly over the bread. Next, I layered on a thick slice of mozzarella cheese followed by a pile of roasted eggplant, zucchini, and squash.
So much flavor!!! And filling too. Even with a belly full of Pumpkin Carrot Cake Bread I made room for this sandwich in my belly last night for dinner. And had take two of it for lunch today. If we had more leftovers I would likely have had it for dinner again tonight. It's just that fabulous. Mmm…mmm!
Am I ready to be a mommy???
A couple days ago, Caitlin posed a question on her blog about how you can know if you’re ready for kids and how much having children can impact your life. Of course, I had to weigh in on the post. I figured I would also share my thoughts here since I have received a similar question from some of you before. 
First of all, I believe it is unlikely to EVER feel 100% prepared to have a baby. If you wait for that feeling, you very well could wait forever. There will always be questions if you’re ready, physically able, financially stable enough, etc. to have kids.
Peter and I planned both of our pregnancies, but we never felt completely ready. We decided the time to start our family came when both of us got a deep feeling in our guts that the timing was right. I went off birth control and we figured we would let things happen naturally. With Makenzie, it happened much faster than we anticipated (the first month!). I remember freaking out that I wasn’t actually ready.
Our hearts were right though, and having her brought a new level of happiness to our lives. We found a new normal and adjusted our lives to a family of three instead of two.
Kids do change things in life. You can’t just sleep in until 10 am anymore or pick up and go on a trip at the drop of a hat for instance. But, and this may sound wrong, I also firmly believe in not allowing life to fully revolve around your children. They should be one of the most important parts of life, but not make your life. I try to remember I am still my own person and the marriage partnership is still the foundation of the home.
Peter and I work hard on taking time for ourselves. I still make time to pursue all the things I love and that make me me. My children add to my life. They don’t consume my life. That allows a balance so that parenting doesn’t feel like a sacrifice, as some people can make it appear. It makes parenting a true joy. And it makes me happy I trusted what instinctually felt right in starting our family over 3.5 years ago.
I will never get over the cuteness of this picture!!!
- Are you a mom? What led to you starting your family?
- Not a mom? What do you wonder about most in parenthood?
Tags: dinner, lunch, motherhood
I absolutely subscribe to this thinking – I know those who lives are consumed by their kids and it’s just not for me. We’re not QUITE ready but do feel, like you said, that we never will be quite ready – i’m waiting for our gut feelings to sync – sometimes i’m ready, or he is, and it’s happening more frequently, but hasn’t quite synced yet. 🙂
I sort of disagree with you on this one.
I’m not saying that you should change the person you are because you’re a parent but I truly do believe that being a mother consumes your life. Not in a bad way of course, but rather, like you said, you can’t just take a trip at the drop of a hat, it’s because you are thinking of your children. In order to properly care for you child they must be in your mind for every decision you make every day. So in that way they do consume your life.
Even when they aren’t affecting certain decisions you can’t help but think about them because you just love them so freaking much.
I’m the kind of person that doesn’t need to wait to be 100% ready for something. I know that I will never be ready for something so big like buying a house, getting married, or having kids. But I always knew it’s what I wanted in life and although there are always excuses not to, when those start running thin and you realize that you can adjust to the big change, I say just do it!