Life Lately | A Motherhood Update

Wow - it's been a really long time since I last shared a Life Lately post. Back then (in August!) my little ladybug was only 4 months old. As of tomorrow, she'll be 11 months! Cue the tears...and the happy dances...and the tears. It's such a bittersweet flood of emotions to celebrate each milestone. With every day, week, and month of growth, she learns so much and becomes more confident, more expressive, and more capable. We are prouder of her each day than we thought possible. She's pulling herself up and standing now, and wants so badly to walk. I know those first steps could happen anytime in the next weeks/months. I'm craving more time to spend with her, as these last 30 days of babyhood are sure to rush by at lightening speed. I can't believe that one month from tomorrow, I won't have a baby anymore, because she'll be a toddler! 

Now that I'm almost a full year into this parenting/business ownership thing, I am starting to reflect on the most profound differences between life then (pre-parenthood) and life now. Friends, the differences are amazing. I think I could write a post that is twenty pages long, but I don't think anyone other than my own mother (hi Mom!) would read it - so I'll keep this short and sweet. Three things: 

1.) The little things are smaller, and the bigger things are bigger. Seriously. The petty stuff that used to keep me up at night, or rattle my inner sensitivities and insecurities to the core, just.doesn't.matter.anymore. The bigger things have my focus and my priorities are way different. Time with family is paramount. It's more important than flawless makeup application, or being able to fully dry my hair. It's way more important than being caught up on Instagram posts, or market research. Remember that one time when I posted a picture of myself with zero makeup to this blog because I cared more about the memory of a particular moment than how I looked during that moment? No? Well, here it is, forehead wrinkles and all:

2.) It's so much easier to be selfless. Human nature is selfish. It just is. We're all inherently born that way. This past Sunday, our pastor illustrated that point in the simplest way: look at a child. As babies grow up and become young children, we have to purposefully teach them to share, have empathy for others, and not put their own wants and needs above everyone else. They aren't born knowing how to do that. In over three and a half decades of life, nothing has curbed my own selfishness faster than becoming a parent. Now I think about her first. Always. I think about other people's kids first, because I know how much those parents love their little ones like I love mine. Over the past three months, I've dealt with some scary health challenges. More on that later - saving it for another day - but the important thing here is that the very reason it all scares me has much more to do with my desire to be healthy for my little girl, and for our family. It's not really about me. Selflessness turns your world upside down in the best ways.

3.) A smile makes EVERYTHING better. Really! When my daughter smiles at me, all my sadness, fear, and anxiety melt away in an instant. Her smiles make it impossible for me not to smile too. Her joy and curiosity are infectious. When we're running errands at Target (that is totally our thing - she LOVES a trip to Target!) she will bend in any direction from the seat of the cart to get the attention of everyone we pass so that she can smile at them. It's so simple, but so profound. I now catch myself smiling at more strangers. I'm sure my smiles aren't as cute or heartwarming as Piper's are, but if I can take away one fraction of somebody's anxiety about the world for even a second by giving them a smile, then I think that's totally worth it. 

Happy Friday, friends! Sending you all a big virtual smile and lots of love! 

Becca