Motherhood - "great movie" review

In this great movie about the ups and downs of motherhood, Eliza (Uma) is a stay-at-home mother of two children who used to be a writer and is now blogging about being a mom. There's so many different part of her life that are easy to relate to. Also helps me some of what I have to look forward and how I can get through all of the different seasons of motherhood a bit easier.

In one scene, Eliza and her husband are talking and she talks about her life as a stay-at-home mother and how it affects her:

It's just that every day until the second I pass out cold, my day, like the day of almost every other mother I know, is made up a series of concrete, specific actions. And they're actions that kind of ware away at passion, if you know what I mean. The actions are petty and small, like refilling coffee cups or folding underwear, but they accumulate and in this really debilitating way that diminishes my ability to focus on anything else.

Throughout the day, Eliza is trying to write an essay for a parenting magazine and it is something that speaks to the hearts of all mothers:

Motherhood is about accepting the limitations of time and energy, which stretch beyond you, even though it feels like they could consume you. Search for and hold on to your own true self, because without that, what mother can you be? Things are always changing, no matter how much we might want things to stay the same. You could take a picture of your kids every single day and every single day, they'd just be getting older. That's a fact, a heartbreaking fact, but still a fact. So seize your days and dwell on them fully. Look to your children because they know how to inhabit brief periods of time with extreme passion and for nothing more really than the sake of those moments, they can help you remember that. If you only slow down and let them. Be fortunate because chances are good you actually might be.

I personally loved the movie and think all moms, especially stay-at-home moms should watch it, but that's just my *review* I love being a mom, it's the most rewarding role/job in the world, but it can be challenging on so many different levels. For me, I struggle to be a toddler along with my daughter some days, to get down to her level, to play, to color for hours on end, to simply try to see and learn through the eyes of a 2.5 year old. Other times, it's the stubbornness I have to deal with, the tantrums or the crying when she doesn't get her way. Or it could simply be the selfishness of wanting more time to myself, to pursue things I'm passionate about, because I too feel as though they are diminished. Sometimes, I truly believe I've forgotten parts of who I am, things I may like or dislike, or what I enjoy about the world I live in. But in the end, it's all worth it to look into Juliana's beautiful eyes and feel my heart beat with love for her. Her passion for life is more than enough for me right now and in the process of being her mom, I will try harder to seize my days, be fortunate and most importantly, to find my true self.