Does a blog need a purpose?

I feel like every blog I hear about or read has a purpose.  Whether the blogger is discussing politics or parenting, couponing or Christianity, they are all focused on one idea.  My blog is nothing like that, I'll get a thought stuck in my head and if I can't get it out, I blog it.  Which doesn't happen with too much consistency, obviously.  Besides all that, I have too much going on in my mind to just focus on one theme all the time.  Couple that with chasing kids around like a crazy person, and I don't really have the time to devote to one thing or another.  So maybe I'll blog about different things on different days and try to fit it all in.  I feel like I have a lot to talk about and since I don't get out much, this blog will have to be my voice.

Today's blog is about motherhood.  It's important that you know that I can only speak for women and only of my experiences, I know that everyone is different and my opinions don't hold true for all people.  It's funny how we have all these ideas about motherhood before we ever become one.  When we are young we think motherhood is about being able to tell someone else what to do and as we get older we think, it'll be fun to have a kid cause we can play with them and let them do all the things our parents never let us do.  Then as we get to the age where we could become mothers and we start to judge other women and how they are raising their kids saying, "Oh, I'd never do that." or "I can't believe they are letting their child behave that way!"  Then we get that positive pregnancy test and things start to change, we start thinking about names and looks and personalities that our child might have and what we can do to influence those things.  We take better care of ourselves in order to give our baby the best start in life, and this is just the beginning of the things we sacrifice for our kids.

Everyone hears about sacrificing for your child, and most people do it once they become mothers, but ideas are NOTHING compared to the truth.  Giving up alcohol and junk food for veggies and vitamins is trivial compared to the things you give up after you leave the delivery room.  It isn't just about the way your body changes and never goes back, the way that can make you feel, especially when your husband is no worse for wear and people like Heidi Klum strut their stuff on the Victoria's Secret cat walk 6 weeks postpartum.  It isn't about the hormonal mood swings that come out of nowhere, cause while that diminishes slightly over time, it never goes away.  It isn't about not having time for yourself anymore, when just as you get the baby to sleep and you try to lie down, the phone rings or dog barks and the baby is screaming again.  It's everything.  Literally, every THING in your life is now effected because you are a mother.  And some things about motherhood are still only discussed in the doctor's office, which is good that the docs are talking about it, but you feel like a weirdo around your friends who have had kids and they never talk about them.  Things like how much nursing hurts or about postpartum depression or about how your husband wants sex and you could care less.  We don't hear about these things from our friends so when they happen to us, we are left feeling odd and alone.  And beyond the infant stages we are constantly being challenged with lessons in patience, kindness, and self-control.

Kids are great, and the good things you hear about parenting are even better when you experience them, but I think sometimes we get so caught up in how great it is that we leave out the people who feel like some of it isn't so great, in fact, some of it stinks.  And while we wouldn't trade our kids for what we have given up, we want to make sure that those thinking about becoming moms know the whole picture and aren't caught unawares when the perfect happy world they thought parenthood was becomes a nightmare.  And for those women who think, "I'm going to be a great mom.",  you'll have days where you aren't so sure.  And those who think, "I will never let my children behave that way.",  they will.  And those who think, "I can't believe that mother is ignoring her crying child.",  you'll learn to tune out the cries that don't matter.