“Nothing can prepare you for childbirth” and “There’s no manual for raising kids” are a comments I’ve often heard from mothers. Comments are nice, but it’s not until you’ve been in the thick of motherhood that you really begin to understand what they mean. That being said, then how does one prepare for being a mother?
I liken the preparation for being a mom to that of “training” to run a marathon. At minimum, for a marathon you have to:
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Check your status
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Assess your caloric intake
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Plan out your schedule of training
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Make intentional choices
Check your status.
A marathon runner needs to see a physician to determine her fitness level. Similarly, as a woman you need to find out if are “pregnant” & “how far along” you are. Having baseline information about your health will tell you if there are any issues that need to be addressed so that you won’t inadvertently do any harm to yourself or your baby.
Assess the quality and quantity of your caloric intake.
Marathoners obtain their energy from food and healthy/safe supplements. What they ingest affects their productivity at the macro- and micro-level of their physiology. Similarly, as a woman you will do well to not only attend to what you physically ingest, but also what you take in mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.
For instance, examine who’s speaking into your life and what they are saying about you, your pregnancy, your potential as a mother, and the future of your child. You are the holder of life—the hopes and dreams of your child. When Sloan Stephens won the 2017 US Open, she thanked her mom and encouraged other moms to hold and protect their child’s dreams.
Plan out your schedule of training.
New and seasoned marathoners have to define their goals. For newbies, their goal might be to “just finish” the race; for seasoned runners, it may be to improve their speed or manner of running.
Though life happens, as a mom you can still plan what your approach might be for different scenarios you may encounter with your daughter. When making goals for yourself as a mom and for your daughter, remember that your daughter is not you.
Make intentional choices.
Marathoners must listen to their body and pace themselves. They recognize that they need to adjust to the ebb and flow of the race. They also take a long-term view to train with the end goal in mind.
Whether you are a newbie or seasoned mom, preparing for motherhood involves a similar approach. What you want to accomplish with your daughter in the future will be determined by the choices and actions (or inactions) you do today.
You can read more about some other parenting interpersonal tips at my blog post entitled: Listening Comes In 3s.
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