Motherhood is more than the status of having a child. Motherhood is a process of personal growth on its own. It takes us into a world of emotions we never knew before.

Let me share some thoughts from other mothers we had gotten the opportunity to chat with. They shared about the fulfillment, challenges, joys and fears of motherhood.

Alina, a mother of an adorable 2-year-old boy

Being a mother is so much more than 9 months of pregnancy, going through labour, giving birth, and providing for your child.

Being a mother is a mental and emotional state in which you wake up 15 times each night, 5 times to check whether they’re correctly tucked in, 5 times to check whether they have a fever (or breathing). The other 5 times to fulfill every strangely inconceivable demand they have!

And in between the waking-up-going-back-to-sleep cycle, you feel the angst that you perhaps are not adequately taking care of your child!

 

Melissa, mother of a 12-year-old boy

I have often wondered if my child is with the right circle of friends in school or if he is not being bullied or not going through that awkward stage of « trying to belong.’

I worry if he would come home with bruises, a broken arm, or sprained ankle from his sports or a fight.

I wonder if he would still be comfortable trusting me with his feelings, fears, and teenage years’ uncertainties.

Raising a teenager is a complex balance between discipline and allowing freedom. It’s like holding a watermelon seed between the thumb and pointer finger. Press it too tightly, it would shoot up, and you would lose it. If you don’t hold it firm enough, it will fall, and you would lose it just the same. How to find that balance…I don’t know. I still worry if I am raising him the right way…

Crystal, a mother of an 18-year-old daughter.

You may not need to wake up every night just to check on whether they are tucked-in correctly or if they have a fever. But I can tell you that you will experience an ongoing dilemma about their future, their personal choices, the path they will pursue in life, the people they will trust with their heart….

It is such a complicated process of « letting go » of worries, which a mother may never learn at all. The never-ending anxiety will leave you with sleepless nights and restless days… And no matter what you do, the feeling of angst, whether you’ve been a good parent or not, never really goes away…