I don’t often talk about my experience with motherhood. This is because I feel a little bit like an anomaly and being an anomaly in the world of mothers doesn’t always go over very well.

When I think of how I see motherhood portrayed by peers and media, I think of the words “exhausted”, “surviving”, “needing caffeine”, “yoga pants”, and “no me time”. Part of me has to wonder how much moms express themselves this way because it’s completely true, and how much some moms express themselves this way because they have to in order to fit in.

I have to honestly say that after 13 months of being a mom, I cannot empathize with these kinds of statements (sympathize, yes; empathize, no). I count myself blessed to not need much more than 6 hours of sleep to have a normal amount of energy through the day. I count myself blessed to not need caffeine before doing anything in the morning. I count myself blessed to not have ever spent money on yoga pants so I don’t have them to wear. I count myself blessed that I have never felt the need to be pampered with alone time, pedicures and a glass of wine.

But in no way do I think this makes me a better parent than you. I still rarely feed Calvin vegetables. I don’t play with him one on one as much as maybe I should. I don’t bring him outside as much as he wishes I would. I get annoyed with his crankiness and new realization of will.

But he has been a joy to me in his first year of life. He is a happy, silly goof who loves to smile and he makes me smile so much as well.

And that is how motherhood is for me.

Read Part 2 with more on my weaknesses as a mom.