Motherhood Is Loud

Motherhood Is Loud

Motherhood is a life-altering, heart-warming, exhilarating journey– it is all these things and more – it is everything – but it is not quiet, Motherhood is loud! Babies are quick to prepare us for the new normal of noise by crying at the first ability they can open those sweet little lips! As mothers, we quickly learn to pick up on baby’s cues and work to settle them by running through the diaper check, hunger check, rocking them, offering a pacifier or teething toy and on down the list. As our babies begin to crawl, there is a new noise that buzzes in our homes, with the rattling and exploring of all available space within reach. We quickly realize that our homes were never designed with a baby’s curiosity in mind and begin putting things high up on shelves, plugging up sockets, locking up cabinets and anything else we can imagine might be hazardous. Our babies then grow into toddlers with a lot of speaking to make up for – I wondered the other day just how many words my toddler speaks in a day and I think it must be somewhere in the 5000 word range, all joking aside. She begins speaking the minute her eyelids open in the morning and doesn’t stop until they fall closed at night. I love how her mind works and how she is so wonderful at explaining her feelings or thoughts to me about something but sometimes,  I honestly crave a little quiet.

The Quiet Moments that Keep Us Going

Then this morning as I was getting ready in the bathroom, I overhead my husband speaking with my oldest – it was quiet – he was telling her how much he loves her and she in turn told him the same.   It hit me in that moment that despite all the noise that accompanies motherhood (and there is a lot, especially during the “witching hour”) there are moments that are quiet and we can and should carve them out each day. Taking time to slow down, sit on the floor, stop for a hug, draw a picture, whatever it is to slow down. So yes motherhood is loud and there are a lot of noisy things that come with the vocation, but some of the noise is downright beautiful and important –it is the noise of family, of living.  It can be overwhelming when all engines are go, but when we slow the train of our busy lives, we will see some pretty beautiful things that only a noisy toddler can truly reveal to us.