Right now, Zoe and her younger sisters Emma and Ruby and I all seem to serve as parts of a whole. Together, we smell lilacs, slurp popsicles, share sticky kisses and annoyed glances. "Mommy, I love you, hate you, want to be with you, want you to go away!" We giggle together at silly jokes; we yell at each other on our crabbier days. This, for me, is an aspect of motherhood I hadn't counted on-the complexity of our relationships and the reality that my daughters are not simply my babies, but are opinionated and unique individuals. Motherhood is teaching me that hoarding expectations can often be a pointless exercise.
I invite all of you to offer your own twist on the transition from pregnant idealism to pragmatic motherhood. Whether you are currently reckoning with a teenage daughter's individualistic streak or are a new mom lamenting the loss of time for yourself, let us know how motherhood is affecting you. These experiences can be valuable lessons to all of us, and serve to remind us that motherhood is, by its very nature, wildly unpredictable!
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