You've made it! You are finally married! Phew what a relief! That one event should do it for a while, all that dating, 'getting to know ya' stuff is just exhausting... You are on your way now! How much more difficult can 'real life' be, you ask yourself????....those other ladies just don't have their act together like you will...you are going to be an awesome wife and mother, just you wornout housewives watch this!!!
There is just so much to offer of yourself....you are so young and fresh and beautiful like a bouquet of flowers, so lovely to behold and enjoy and frankly show off a bit, if you must know :)
...and yet...becoming this woman....this person dedicated to family and faith encourages you to adjust yourself in unexpected ways....you are content v/s giddy...you are productive v/s pretty....you even notice you are willing to subject your physical body to sacrifice and discomfort in order to fulfill the measure of your creation..
the blessing of a little one to nurture overwhelms every one of your senses and you begin what I call 'the beautiful surrender'.... you pass part of yourself to another...you give your life 'literally' to another little spirit...you help them receive a physical body and a family...you surrender yourself...passing the beautiful self forward
I believe this is when women are their most beautiful....
'the beautiful surrender'
let me explain....and stop using dot....dot...dot...format :)
I am 38 now. A vivid change has taken place in my life. My kids are growing up. I can do so many things I used to wish for so badly, trying to balance my life with small children. It is an impossible circumstance, nurturing others and nurturing yourself. Hey, I was savvy. I read the articles, and scriptures and listened to all the talks and did my VERY best to always prioritize my children and husband. I had the proverbial 'Supermom' in a headlock. I was great at it, actually.
And now,
I have the keen perspective of someone who has come through the trenches. A glance backward reveals so much. I see mothers doing so much on so little. I know mothers who give and give and give and take very little for recompense. I watch beautiful women surrender their wants and needs and send their beauty forward to their children. Unselfishness is abounding in the young mother.
I am positive that the most beautiful of women are these:
the ones with strollers
the ones with wipes in the car
the ones with dark circles under their eyes
the ones with coupons
the ones with stained t-shirts
the ones with jagged finger nails
the ones with no make up on
the ones with a kind smile for the child who needs one
the ones with hidden chocolate somewhere in the house
the ones with carpools and vans
the ones with yearly passes to science museums and yet no tickets to Broadway
the ones with tired shoulders and backs
the ones with ill matched pajamas and fuzzy socks
the ones who would give their lives for their children
in fact
they already have.......
(pretty pictures by Quinn Farley Photography, find him in SLC and Provo)