Mama Bear

So, once upon a time (before I was a mom), I heard a woman complaining about how she always has to stop to show strangers her baby (not present), because everyone always wants to tell her how cute her child is.  I was in stitches. I mean, for reals?  How "ridiculous" of other people to compliment her baby... did she honestly think that this was a crime?  Rude!

Ok, but to break it down for you, her kid wasn't there, so I'm giving her the benefit of the doubt that her child was out-of-this-world adorable... But, I nearly laughed out loud at her righteous indignation, and legitimately thinking that this was something acceptable to complain about.  I mean, come on.  I'm not sure of the sex of her child, but apparently she'd been blessed with the baby version of Brad Pitt or Jennifer Aniston (yeah, that was a purposeful exclusion of Miss-I'm-a-husband-stealer-Jolie), and people couldn't wait to stop her, just to look at her angelic kid, and tell her how cute they were.

Must be tough.  

But here's what it made me think about... Nobody stops me in public when I have Axel with me.  Don't get me wrong, my kid is cute.  In fact, he is freakin' 'dorbs.  He doesn't mind hangin' out with strangers, he coos and chats with anyone who comes near, and he'll make even the most awkward person feel 10 feet tall with one of his million-dollar-Julia-Roberts-style-gummy smiles. It's obvi that my child is not what keeps strangers away.

But, nobody stops me in public when I have Axel with me.  And do you know why?  

Plain and simple folks, when I'm out and about and Axel is with me I give off a huge B vibe.  That's right, it's true.  A new side of me has emerged with motherhood, and lemme tell you, it ain't pretty.  No, we're not talkin' a walking hormonal hot mess.  Not that kind of cray.  We're talkin' straight up, mama bear-ness.

If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times, I am not a traditionally maternal lady.  It's just not me.  But since having procured this small human, I have become a force to be reckoned with.  Just in case you were wondering, the definition of that is: "Someone or something that is important and powerful and must not be ignored."   That about sums it up.  The girl who goes to the doctor and accepts whatever they tell her without contradiction, the girl who feels bad even ordering things online because she doesn't want to bug the employees, or the girl who never returns a meal or drink no matter how terrible it is - that girl does not exist when Axel is involved.  That girl turns into a mama bear who will do anything and everything to keep her baby safe.  That girl is tough, strong, and when needed, vicious, to protect her child.  Strangers don't ask to see my baby because something in my demeanor shouts "Don't even think about getting near my precious little child, because I.WILL.END YOU."  

Why this enormous change of heart and personality?  Because, this is my little human. He is mine.  He made me a mom, he trusts me with his life (even though he doesn't know it yet), and he now retains an incredibly large section of my heart.  

I can't describe to you the enormity of changes that occur when you have a child, it would take too many words, most of which would not truly do it justice.  Yes, you change.  Everything morphs.  Not just your post-baby body, with all of it's fun little quirks, much of which requires a heck of a lot of grace with yourself (sure, not everything snaps back to where it once was, the heartburn that they promise you will stop once you give birth but doesn't, the baby fat everyone swears that you will lose eventually, or the crazy amount of hair that you start spontaneously losing).  No, that is not what I'm talking about.  I'm talking about what changes inside.  That mama bear instinct that appears out of nowhere and drives you to do anything and everything you need to do to protect your offspring.  Sure, I heard ladies talk about it, but I never truly understood, and I certainly didn't think I would ever feel.  But now I do.  I would give my life without a second thought to protect Axel - bullets, knives, fires.  Anything. I would throw myself in front of a train to save that little man.  

But why?

Some people argue it's hormones.  Some say it's instinct.  I think it's something God puts in your soul.  This little being, thigh chubs and all, is now a part of you.  A part that if lost, cannot be replaced, and you will do absolutely anything to protect it - just like you would if it was literally a part of you - a hand, a leg, or eyeball, anything...  

And you know what I think is so stinkin' amazing?  It makes you selfless.  Mama bears don't think before going after anyone or anything that separates them from their young.  They just do.  Now, I'm not suggesting that mothers have a free pass for being an absolute B to any stranger who happens along wanting to compliment their child as Ms. Complainer from earlier lived out. I simply mean, I have a new found respect for the absolute beauty of selflessness that occurs within your soul when you produce a child that needs everything from you.  No resentment, no reservations, just love and protection.  And honestly, humans are pretty gosh-darn selfish, so I'm fairly certain that this feeling comes straight from God.  Pretty cool if you ask me :)

So cheers to all of the mama bears out there.  Protect your babies!  But just make sure you're not mauling any innocent bystanders in the process ;)