Mom It Forward Moments

by Jyl Johnson Pattee on June 27th, 2009 | 2 Comments »

2 copy For a mother, giving is innate.

From the moment we discover we are pregnant, or that we are being blessed with adoption, our inner 'giver' stirs. And, we may not even know it is happening.

Instead of worrying about the sleep we will lose, we think only of the quiet moments in the middle of the night when we will have our babies all to ourselves. We can focus on the beauty of those precious moments, and sacrificing sleep will seem minuscule.

No one will teach us to take the burnt piece of chicken, to sing A-B-C's until our ears ring, to walk 15 blocks to find the lost blanket our little one 'has to have' or give up hours of our time to work on math homework.

We will just do it.

No one told us we would come last—even in our own minds—from the moment we conceived.

And we don't complain. Because we realize, we are teaching by example. For every hug we give, every hand we hold, every kiss we share - you - our children - will learn. You will see that giving makes the world a brighter and more beautiful place.

We take our big hopes for a kinder world and we pass them to you in a million small ways every day.

When we listen to you, we hope you will open your ears to others. When we hold you tight, we trust you will one day do the same. When we open a door for a stranger, share a meal with someone who needs it, donate clothes to a family with a new child, dedicate a prized Saturday to building a home, or simply smile, we believe we are shaping you.

You may not recognize it as it happens. But the giving will occur all around you. These will be the moments that mold.

We are momming-it-forward.

About the Author: Danielle Smith is a mommy to two smart and sassy small people, as well as the founder and primary author of ExtraordinaryMommy.com. You can catch her hosting a brand new live show, The Spin Cycle, on MomTV.com every Wednesday at 9pmEST. She also hosts a show on Blog Talk Radio and contributes to WhyMomsMatter. Danielle is thrilled to be contributing to MomItForward as ‘giving back’ has always been an important part of who she is and what she hopes to teach her children

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Jyl Johnson Pattee

An active part of the Mom It Forward team, Jyl primarily writes about parenting, social good, and all things travel related. In a past life, Jyl was an award-winning copywriter and designer of corporate training programs for Fortune 100 companies. Offline, Jyl is married to @TroyPattee; a mom to two teen boys and a beagle named #Hashtag; loves large amounts of cheese, dancing, and traveling; and lives in the beautiful Rocky Mountains. Topping her bucket list is the goal to visit 50 countries by the time she's 50.