What is the hardest thing about being a mother? Well, before my son was born I thought the hardest thing about being a mother was waking up 10 times in the middle of 
the night to calm a crying baby. Or maybe not having any free time to do anything I wanted. Or possibly it’s the extra weight that you gain, or the stretch marks, or the sore nipples after breastfeeding, or the lack of sleep… The list in my head went on and on.
However, none of these things scared me away from wanting to be a parent. I was ready to make these sacrifices and I did when Peter was born. The first month he cried and I was so sleep deprived that I was falling asleep on the go. I had the worst stretch marks on my stomach and an extra 20 pounds that I just couldn’t shed. On top of all that my breast was so engorged and nipples so sore that I thought they would fall off (at that point I was praying for them too).
None of these things were the hardest for me. Watching my boy screaming bloody-murder after just receiving 4 vaccines in his thighs could not even come close to what I found to be the hardest thing about being a mother. (Trust me, Peter getting his shots was hard on me. I cried in the bathroom while my husband was in the hospital room when Peter received his pokes.)
The hardest thing about being a mother for me was the responsibility and the influence 
I had on the kind of person he would become. I know, it doesn’t sound as hard as being sleep deprived every day of your life but it is. And what do I mean by this anyway? When I look at Peter I wonder what kind of person he will grow up to be. Will he be good, kind, honest, trustworthy? Or will he grow up to be selfish, lazy, and cruel? I can’t help but realize how much influence I have on that and how much responsibility that is.
So to me, the hardest thing about being a mom is living my daily life in such a way that would shape him to be a kind, honest, godly, and selfless man. Why is this hard for me??? Because I realize that in order for me to instill these qualities in my little boy I must first possess them inside myself! How could I teach him to be something, that I am still learning myself?
In your experience what did you find to be the hardest thing about parenthood?
