I can’t tell you who I am without first telling you that I’m a mother. 

I have four little people who depend on me. It’s the stage I’m in and, currently, it defines me. My life is a compilation of laundry, carpool lines, snacks, diaper changes, baseball games, soccer practices, bath nights, baby laughs, homework, tantrums, meltdowns, snuggles, more snacks, and more laundry. It’s a messy, chaotic stage of life and it isn’t easy. But I love it, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

As mothers, we know that the most ordinary days can hold the most beautiful memories. Each detail can hold so much meaning. Like the way he twirls his hair with one hand while holding a bottle with the other. Or the little feet that cross while he nurses. The ways she lines up all of her books in a particular order along the edge of her crib. The blankie that’s been everywhere and seen everything.

All the while, we know that time is fleeting and the moments are lost. He won’t twirl his hair like that forever. The blankie will be forgotten one day. Before we know it, we’ve blinked and our babies aren’t babies anymore.

I want to remember every stage. I know you do, too.

That’s why I’m here. That is why I do what I do.