The definition of a mother according to Merriam Webster dictionary is: “a female parent”.
For me it is my greatest achievement, but more than that a privilege.
When we receive our 3.85kg miracle, my life was changed in ways I didn’t think we’re possible.
The first way was to realize how much love you can have for one little person.
The second way my life changed was having all this new responsibility and not knowing if you are enough… doing enough, giving enough, being enough.
The third way is to see and experience life through little baby eyes. To see what they see, the little things they get excited about, to trust without hesitation, to live without limits.
The fourth way my life changed is to see the miracle of life unfolding day by day. I always thought the miracle stopped when the baby is born, but it continues daily with development and growth beyond my comprehension.
The final way life changed for me is to enjoy life every day. There is something in my baby I enjoy every day. Sometimes it is to hear him laugh, sometimes watching him sleep, sometimes he is making plans while figuring out a new toy or playing with the dog. Holding and hugging him fill me with that unexplainable amount of love.
Sometimes I am overwhelmed by the greatness of being a mother; the responsibility and stress, lack of sleep, not being in control. Loving someone so much scares me.
But it also includes a lot of laughter; and being the receiver of many hugs and kisses.
Becoming a mother is one of the greatest things that happened to me and I wouldn’t change it for anything.
This post was written by Rolene of Mom Making Memories.
Cassey, I am so sorry that you felt the need to start a war on a simple thing. I have read the post a few times now, and not once does the author actually says that giving birth yourself is needed to be a mom. She however talks about when she receive the child (can be via adoption, birth or however you feel fits) and then further about how much love one can feel for a little person, new responsibilities, seeing life through little eyes, daily development, stress, lack of sleep, joy, laughter, hugs, kisses, etc. And according to her, THAT is being a mom. I am not a mother, did not give birth, not a stepmother, didn’t adopt. But reading this blog makes me really excited to experience that, as this blog surely shows that motherhood goes beyond whoever gave birth to your child, and that the Oxford quote is just not enough to explain that. And I think that was what the author intended to show.
I apologize if the quote from the Oxford dictionary offended anyone. It was never my intention to cause anyone hurt.
The point I was trying to make in the post is that being a mom is much more than giving birth to a baby (as the Oxford dictionary says).
What it means to be a mom for me is taking responsibiliby for a baby, loving it, experiencing life through them, etc. I was trying to explain that (from my viewpoint) that giving birth to a baby is not the thing making you a mom.
I am sorry if this point didn’t come through strong enough.
Cassey – as discussed on twitter, while we have edited the post it was not because we felt it was rude or even insensitive but rather because it was not all inclusive of mothers and fathers who have not birthed their children. The fact is that if you look up the official meaning of the word Mother, this is what you will find.
Denise – we made the decision to remove the quote because while it was correctly quoted from the dictionary it is not how we view mothers. We do not tell our guest writers what to write but we do have the final say over what gets published and what not. Unfortunately this was on oversight by both Heather and myself. It was not removed because of the negative feedback it received.
OMG! You edited the post so it doesn’t include the Oxford Dictionary definition?
That is shocking.
Good luck with getting guest bloggers in the future when you tell them what they have to write.
*quotes dictionary*
*gets called insensitive and rude*
Cassey > Just because someone posts a different viewpoint from yours doesn’t mean you have to call it out and slag them off on Twitter. Stop overreacting.
Have read the rest of this…and at no point does your guest writer turn this around.
To use a definition of being a mother as in relation to a child or children you gave birth to is incredibly insensitive and rude. Quite frankly, I couldn’t read this beyond that line.