Lessons Learned

What have I learned from motherhood, that I never expected to learn? Well, honestly the answer is anything.

As the second of 10 children, I was pretty familiar with the daily grind of motherhood. Before I left home at 17 I had changed diapers, wiped noses, caught throw up in the middle of the night, sang lullabies, kissed booboos, and potty trained. I had given little boys haircuts and helped with science project homework. I could cook for 12 people, wash laundry, and make a very efficient chore chart (getting them all to comply was another story of course). I knew abot umbilical cords and pink eye and how to mix formula and rice cereal. I do admit I was completely unpreparred for the pure physical exhaustion I would feel, as well as how much more emotionally involved I wiould be, but as far as new physical skills, I was pretty sure I knew it all.

I had a plan, marriage, then graduation from college, then I would have kids. As soon as I passed my last final I would be done learning. No school, no homework, no studying, no learning.

Then of course, I had a baby and learned I knew absolutely nothing. So many questions, so many things I didn't know! I learned a lot more by experience, by doing, out of neccessity. There was so much more to learn as a  mother that I couldn't learn as a big sister or a babysitter. How long do I let her cry while falling asleep? How high should the fever be before I give medicine or call the doctor? How do I teach her to pray? To tell the truth? To spell her name? To stand up for herself? To be herself? And just when I thought I had it figured out, her brother came and what worked for one didn't work so well anymore, and I started over. The pattern has continued for numbers 3 and 4 as well. The more you know, the more you realize you don't know.

However, the thing that really suprised me was that I was never going to stop learning. Beyond the parenting books and child development issues, my children present me with new learning opportunities every day. They motivate me to reach farther and learn things I would not otherwise care to find out about.

For example, these are the things I have learned in the past two months, thanks to the library and google and just making things up:
If a lion and tiger got in a fight, who would win?
Why do fireflies glow?
What kind of flowers grow in that spot?
Why do I bleed?
Where is the hottest place on earth? The coldest?
How do I make a cardboard tube into a musical instrument?
If we mix a cake with no eggs, will it still be a cake?
Why do I have to eat green beans to be healthy?
How does an airplane fly?
Why do cars need gas to drive?
How far away is Canada? Alaska? California?
Why is the water at the beach salty and the water in the lake just muddy?
If Eleanor Roosevelt was alive today, how old would she be?
How does polio make you need a wheelchair?
Why do some trees have flowers and some have needles and some just have leaves?
Does every kind of animal poop, even fish and flies and cats and lions and bears and dragons?
What would dragon poop look like, do you think?
Could I grow a pineapple?
Are bubbles always round?
Why are they named stink bugs? Do they really stink?
Would it cost more to drive to Alaska or California? What if we camped out instead of sleeping in a hotel?
Does it ever stop raining here?
If I make tears when I cry, does Heavenly Father cry when he is sad, and does his resurrected body make tears?
Why does the yolk of the egg turn green on the outside when you cook it?
Do babies ever stop crying?

So I guess the answer is all of the above. I never expected to keep learning so much!