A few things I've learned...

Thanks so much to everyone who commented here and on my FB account about what it means to be a mother. Your comments were great- and very inspiring- they were great in my talk yesterday! In honor of Mom's Day, I'm including in this post my list (from my talk yesterday) of a few things I've learned in the last 7.5 years of motherhood...

I've learned:

You can clean nearly anything out of carpet with either ammonia or shaving cream.

It is often better to listen than to talk.

Adhesive bandages have magical healing powers.

Nothing compares to the young testimony of a little child as they share with you their thoughts about Jesus.

Not to be offended that when the children play house, the mother is always dead.

Family activities and projects are never perfect, and that's okay.

Family home evening, no matter how raucous and loud, is precious time.

"Furniture" is synonymous with "playground" in the vocabulary of a four-year-old.

The carpet will always be dirty, the patio door covered in fingerprints, mysterious odors will linger in the laundry room, but babies will grow and change and we will never have those moments back.

Grandparents are angels.

Children will clean any mess if they can do it like a superhero.

Sometimes we just need to cry in the pantry for a few minutes, and that's okay.

Martha Stewart did NOT have five children aged seven and under.

A little individual time with a child does wonders for behavior.

Never break a promise.

My Heavenly Father knows me, He knows my children- HIS children, and wants us to be happy.

Relief Society is often that- a RELIEF. There is great wisdom to be found among those who have done it before, and great support to be found among our sisters in the trenches.

Above all, prayer is a lifeline. It is the ultimate resource, the channel by which we plead our hearts desires, cry out the pain in our hearts, and receive quiet answers.


Hope your Mother's Day was a great one! Hang in there Mommies, you're doing the most important work there is- and in the immortal words of Zac Ephron, "We're all in this TOGETHER! " :)