Mommy-strength

This past Sunday, Zoe fell asleep at the very beginning of mass ... which meant I had to carry her for almost an hour.  A friend of mine saw me holding her throughout most of the mass and asked if I ever got tired.  She said she knows how heavy Zoe is these days and was surprised that I didn't look tired or in pain at all.  For some reason, whenever I hold Zoe, I never feel tired.  I can literally hold her for hours on end if I really had to. Yes, she's heavy (she's 18 pounds to be exact) and she feels even heavier when she falls asleep ... but for some reason, I don't feel sore or tired or anything!  I guess it must be "mommy strength" ... it's that extra "something" that God gave us moms to be able to care for our child through all kinds of circumstances.  It's that extra source of energy that comes out of nowhere that allows you to not only care for your child, but also prepare dinner, do the dishes, fold the clothes, put your child to bed and then figure out what other chores need to be done before finally going to bed.  I'm actually really thankful for "mommy strength".  I love being able to care for my child and my husband and my home and still have energy to see what else needs to be done.  I consider it a blessing to be able to handle all these things on my plate and hope that as the years go on and I get older and my family grows, I will still be able to muster up my mommy-strength to take care of my family.  

Every Sunday, I pray before the Virgin Mary and ask her to help me be a better wife to Michael, a better mom to Zoe, a better daughter to my parents, a better sister to my brothers and a better friend to others.  I know that my mommy-strength is Their way of helping me be all those things and for that, I am so grateful.  Besides, I have the best example of patience and love in Jesus Christ ... as I carry Zoe through her life, it is the Lord that has been carrying me all these years without any sense of being weary or fatigued ... 

As the famous poem goes, 

"My precious child, I love you and will never leave you, never, ever, during your trials and testings. When you saw only one set of footprints, It was then that I carried you."