When I think back to high school, my biggest fear was getting pregnant and having to deal with the stigma of being a teen mom.
I watched some of my friends live through it. They had to grow up fast; worked while finishing school and had to miss some of the teenage outings to become readymade adults.
I've kept in touch with some of those friends and see that most went on to college and have thriving lives. With some of their children now being 10 years or older, they have what appears to be the freedom to move about, because their children are old enough to have relative independence.
And I'm like... well damn!
I was always told that life would be so hard as a young mom and it can ruin your life and so on. But what they didn't tell me is that being a mom is hard period! No matter what age. No matter where you are in life.
Having a baby at 30 or 40 years old, when responsibilities and obligations are more concrete, you can find yourself in an extremely dire situation when the unexpected happens.
Struggling at 30 years old with a baby is a hard pill to swallow. Going through the terrible twos while your besties are high-tailing it off to Cabo to re-live their lost 20s, can be frustrating.
Now you can read this and ask is she promoting teen parenting?... Nah! I'm being honest with my feelings of I thought this was the superior route, I thought this was the greener grass. I can't help but feel left in the proverbial dust.
Now that I got that off my chest I will attribute these displaced emotions to my blooming mom-life crisis. With any job ('Mom' being the toughest job there is), there is a training period, learning curve and a bounce back time. I will get there just like every other mother that may or may not be willing to admit she has had the same feelings.
With youth comes the flexibility to deal with stress and the promise of second chances. However waiting has its benefits: the opportunity to establish stability, and the maturity to handle anything thrown your way.
We are all mommy strong. Weather you find yourself in a "no going back" situation, or your waiting for your ducks to be in a row.
There is no easy road to being a mother, but I haven't met a mom yet that hasn't come out of it a much better person.
