Mothering Through the Sand Dunes of Life

Out in the middle of no where, among the Rocky Mountains are acres of sand. Great Sand Dunes National Park is a fascinating place to visit; it is like being at the ocean except the ocean is missing. Leading up to beautiful soft yellow mountains of sand is a vast, expanse of smooth, sandy ground. Some of the flat ground leading up to the dunes is easy to walk through as the sand is compressed; other places the sand is soft making walking more difficult. The national park service is unable to create a map of trails, because the sand dunes are constantly shifting and if you sit for a spell you can see whiffs of sand blowing passed.

During a visit to the park, the thought occurred to me that the adventure of motherhood is like exploring sand dunes. Some days mothering is easy, like walking on sand that is firm. Other days are tough, no major obstacles, just harder and physically exhausting, like walking through soft sand. But other days are like climbing a mountain of sand. Difficult!

We’ve all had difficult days. You wake up two hours late; the baby slept through her
6am feeding. Even though you enjoyed the extra sleep, you’ve missed the small window of time you had to take a shower. The day doesn’t get better. The toddler and the baby both woke up cranky, with a stuffy nose and sore throat. After an hour’s wait the doctor tells you they have a virus and it just will need to run its course. Back at home you remember there isn’t anything for lunch, because today was supposed to be grocery shopping day. After feeding the kids cereal you begin the process of getting everyone down for a nap. With naptime underway you quick clean up the breakfast dishes, begin a load of laundry, take out the trash and pick up the Duplos the toddler scattered all over the living room and kitchen. Feeling exhausted you decide to lay down for a 10 minute powernap, as you head touches the pillow, crying is heard from the bedroom down the hall. You feel like you have been climbing a mountain of sand and your day is only half over.

Visitors to Great Sand Dunes National Park are encouraged to enjoy, explore, learn and recreate during their visit. We need to do the same as mothers; we need to enjoy the mundane days for their quietness, learn from the difficult days, explore with our children the beauty of each day and recreate together making the most of each day. Just as the sand dunes are a fascinating place to explore, mothering is a fascinating journey.









The above article is copyrighted by Melissa Steckmann.