There Is No Bouncing Back From Motherhood

Bouncing Back usually has a very positive connotation when it comes to personal growth. When we talk about woman’s role in this society, we have opinions that could be radically on the opposite ends of the equator.

Some women prefer to pursue their careers. Some prefer to stay home. Some do it all! However, no matter which side you’re coming from, there’s that motherly instinct inside each one of us that children receive the best of us. And we do it knowingly. With love, with joy, every day.

We can allow ourselves to miss that workout date with our friends. But to miss out on that soccer game or birthday party for our little ones (and they always will be Little Ones for us) is absolutely unacceptable!

This is what Being Beth reflects on Bouncing Back concept in this crazily-busy lifestyle.

~ Laura

“Oh, did you see her on that awards show? Wow—She bounced right back after having her son!”

We live and thrive in a culture where women are celebrated for Bouncing Back after having a baby. Some of my most trusted fluffy tabloids devote pages and pages to analyzing pictures of new moms and how quickly they are returning to their “old selves.”

I’m sorry, but I’ll never Bounce Back to who I was pre-baby. Why? Off the top of my head, my hips expanded and my ass somehow became flat. My skin was stretched. My hair thickened … and then fell out. Oh and also, I will never again leave my house without a bra on. Ever. 

There is no Bouncing Back from motherhood. You bounce into this other life – Not only another (softer) body, but another reality where you are concerned about bed times, and food allergies, and movie ratings, and chore charts. Tonight my six-year-old said, “I like how the bathroom soap smells,” and my eight-year-old said, “Yeah. But it tastes gross.” And all the kids nodded knowingly. This is dinner conversation. These are the people I now hang out with. You cannot Bounce Back from this.

Are you kidding me? It’s another dimension.

I’ve used the phrases “This is for your own good,” and “When I was your age” when discussing everything from vegetable consumption to limiting screen time with these wily junior negotiators. I’ve physically “pulled this car over.” I’ve yelled, I’ve threatened, I’ve literally beat my head against the wall (yes, I said Literally) and, in the sanctuary of a hot shower, I’ve sobbed.

There is no Bouncing Back from this. This is Life. My youngest is five and my baby weight has been shed and replaced a few times. After all, I make some rockin’ Mommy Waffles and my hubby is a fantastic cook.  Also, I shamelessly bribe my kids with dessert. And more often than not, I want a little piece of that action. 

If we’re going to analyze bodies of moms, we really need to consider what went into creating these temples. For me, it’s the pizza/movie Friday nights and the Yahtzee Championships of the World when I sure could have been at the gym. It’s grabbing my 10-year-old and sneaking him some of my Auntie Ruthie’s world-famous sugar cookies before supper… This is what I’ve bounced into.

Someday, I will have Free Time. Me Time. And you will find me training for races and working on getting my booty sculpted into the quarter-deflecting mass of awesome it was created to be. But for now, as long as my kids still fight over who gets to sit with me when we read the next chapter of “Ramona and Her Father” as a family, I am ok with the fact that they are sitting on something a little softer than it once was. After all, this is their dimension. They ought to be comfortable.

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Who Is Being Beth: Irreverent, unique, hilarious, outgoing, caring, without denial gifted with words and surprises.

Being Beth has been one of the most amazing connections anybody could make in their lives.

She is the Connection to all things LIFE.