I was the first of my generation to become a mother. No friends or family had gone before me, so I had nobody to learn from but the best.
I learned everything there is to know about being a mother from my own mum.
My mum did everything for us. She was always there for us. She cooked, cleaned and tidied up. We didn’t have to do the hoovering or our own washing, because our mum was there to do it for us. That’s just what good mums did.
So that’s what I do. I do everything for my kids and it’s hard. More and more I’m learning that I shouldn’t, that it’s important not only for me, but for their own independence, for them to do things for themselves – make their beds, load or unload the dishwasher, make themselves a simple meal, run the hoover round…
Slowly I am learning that asking my kids to help doesn’t make me a bad mother. It makes me every bit as good a mother as my own mum was. Because, needless to say, my mum was such a good mum that I failed to learn things. Basic things like cleaning and tidying and cooking. To this day, I struggle with all of them. I’m not good at them, yet I’m still there, slaving away, trying to be the best possible mother to my kids and do it all.
Being a mother isn’t easy. But we’re all the best mums we can possibly be. The best mums for our own kids. Some mums do everything for their kids, others encourage their kids to be independent. We are all different, different mums, different kids, different parenting styles.
We do what works for us and our families. Because we are mothers.
Motherhood – I did it my way
Linking up with The Gallery over at Sticky Fingers. Pop over to see how others have interpreted the theme ‘Mothers’.
March 11, 2015
Lovely photos and your mum sounds wonderful. My mum is just like yours. She did absolutely everything and I struggle now because I was so dependant on her. Z is the other extreme, he already knows how to operate everything and loves gadgets and he long with cleaning. 🙂
March 11, 2015
Thanks very much. My mum is so good. Glad it’s not just me who has been made a bit useless due to having a really good mum! Long live Z’s enthusiasm for helping out!
March 11, 2015
Lovely photos and words – your love for both generations shines through. xx
March 11, 2015
Thanks very much, that’s such a lovely thing to say! x
March 11, 2015
My Mum did everything for me too – but I do think she did too much. I wont lie it was nice though!
March 11, 2015
I used to do things like set the table and clear it, as well as keep my own room tidy, but that was all! It probably was too much, in hindsight, but it’s very nice at the time and mums want to look after their kids, right?
March 11, 2015
Fantastic post. However my children might disagree with you. Apparently making them tidy their rooms makes me a very bad mother indeed.
March 11, 2015
Thanks very much! My kids ARE supposed to tidy their own rooms, needless to say their rooms aren’t tidy!
March 11, 2015
Interestingly, my mum was very like yours – did everything for me. I think all mums used to be like that. I don’t think there’s a right or wrong way of doing things, we just go with our instinct 🙂
March 11, 2015
We do indeed! Although I’m always very inspired by mums like you who do encourage kids to do more for themselves. My sister is brilliant at keeping things clean and tidy, so obviously having a mum who did everything didn’t do her any harm!
March 11, 2015
What a beautiful collection of photos!
March 13, 2015
Thanks very much, it made me smile finding them all out! 🙂
March 13, 2015
i love your idea of a gallery, have a great Mothers Day!
March 13, 2015
Thanks very much, you too! 🙂
March 13, 2015
A beautiful post and lovely pictures about two wonderful mothers xx
March 13, 2015
Thanks very much, what a lovely thing to say 🙂 x