Perfection Pending

By Meredith Ethington

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Be Brave Guest Post Series Gratitude Guest Bloggers Motherhood Uncategorized

How Motherhood Changed Me

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I am thrilled to have Sherri from God Life Happy Wife here today sharing with us how motherhood has changed her. It really is amazing to see the changes that motherhood can bring to any life. To me, it’s a way I know that being a Mom is definitely one of the most important jobs that God gives to us! Hop on over to Sherri’s blog to see what it is all about when you get a chance. If you want a chance to guest blog for me, go here to get all the details!

***********************MotherhoodHowItChangedMe

In my family order I am the youngest of three.  I have an older sister who is thirteen years older than me, and my brother is eleven years older.  They both are married with kids, so I have a total of six nieces and nephews that I love to death.

Before I had children of my own I always remember thinking “I don’t want any children.  I have enough nieces and nephews that I can play with, and the best part is I can send them back home when I’m done.”

You can imagine the surprise when fast forward a few years and at twenty two and unmarried I was announcing “I’m having a baby!”

Honestly it was a surprise to me as well.  I didn’t even really know if I was ready for all of this, but it was a choice I made and here I was stepping up to the plate, maybe for the first time in my life.

Once everything set in and I realized this is for real, I knew I needed to make some changes in my life, because I wanted to be the best mom I could be.

This is when I made the best decision of my life and committed my life to serving the Lord.  I quickly began to realize that even though this was not exactly how I planned it, it was just what I needed.  It was part of God’s plan to draw me to Him.

Becoming a mother was pure joy.  It was a wonderful gift that I never even knew I wanted, and now I never would give it back.

Being a mom through all of the ups and downs, the smiles and tears, the joys and pains had instantly catapulted me into this life of maturity.  The once self-centered young woman had become this self-sacrificing mama, and I loved it. Now it was all a learning process and don’t get me wrong I still have my spoiled girl moments but I’m definitely not where I used to be.

Now I want to give you a little happy ending to my story. Just as God always does, He once again worked all things together for His good.

After many years my son’s father (who by the way has always been my best friend) and I  decided to get married in November 2009.  We have now grown into a family of four with the addition of my three year old daughter. We are now living life & learning day by day through the grace of God, and growing stronger each day as a family.

And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.  Romans 8:28

Be Blessed!

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mail-1 - Version 2 First and foremost I am a follower of Jesus. I have been blessed to be the wife to my best friend Markiel, a mother to my son eleven year old Amari and my daughter three year old Sanai. I’ve been a stay-at-home mom for four years, and by God’s grace I have found true joy in serving my family in our home. Even amongst all the everyday craziness I know this where God has called me to be. I learn something new everyday, mostly about myself. My blog is God Life Happy Wife. I began this blog because I love to share and connect with other wives & mothers. I also have a desire to encourage wives to serve God in all parts of their lives-marriage, parenting, homemaking, and more.  I blog about all the above plus whatever else I feel like sharing. I love being a Christ-serving wife and I know I’m not the only one.


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  1. KalleyC says

    February 18, 2014 at 1:56 pm

    From the birth of our first child, we are all transformed into people who we thought we would never become. Our worlds are no longer revolving around us, and our hearts have and will forever be changed! I love reading about how motherhood transformed and changed other women! It’s a testament of how the human heart can and does grow!

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Welcome! I’m Meredith.

Mom. Writer. Diet Coke connoisseur. Born and raised Texan. Lover of real talk and laughter with a hint of sarcasm mixed in.

The Mother Load

Perfection Pending on Instagram

Meredith Ethington

perfectpending

Mom • Author • Mental Health Therapist In Training
Grab my new book, The Mother Load, available now. 👇👇

Night night! 😤 Night night! 😤
If you missed my last post about how raising teens If you missed my last post about how raising teens can wreck you mentally….wellll this is part of the reason why. So lonely! But we are in this together somehow. 😂 Make sure to check out my latest substack and grab a copy of my book —- The Mother Load!
NEW ---> "When there are problems in these big kid NEW ---> "When there are problems in these big kid years, it’s no longer really acceptable to call a friend and air the annoyances of the situation. At least not the specifics.

Sure, you can commiserate with a fellow parent about teenagers being the worst.

But, to be honest - they’re not the worst. They’re kind of amazing. But their problems make me tired to my core." 

Read the latest on my substack. I promise you'll relate. ❤️
So sweet. ❤️ Follow me @perfectpending and bet So sweet. ❤️
Follow me @perfectpending and better yet buy my book or subscribe to my substack to support me.
"I don’t know about you, but I don’t really wa "I don’t know about you, but I don’t really want same-ness anymore. I want messy. I want admissions that shit is hard and we don’t have it all together. I want to have a makeup free, messy bun in my sweats run in with a mom friend and not feel worried she’s checking out my un-groomed eyebrows.

I don’t want to try to give off this illusion that I’m control of my life any better than the next person. It’s a shitshow for all of us, and we continue to hide it for fear of what? Being human?"

Read the rest on my Substack. Link in profile.
WHAT IF THIS IS THE HAPPIEST I’LL EVER BE AND I WHAT IF THIS IS THE HAPPIEST I’LL EVER BE AND I MISS IT? What if I miss the best time of my life. What if it’s right this second?
What if it’s right now while I’m in finals week of grad school, and have a kid that’s sick? 
I already miss so much. The gummy smiles of babes without any teeth. The squeaky voices of 2 year olds. The babbling of a baby that’s just trying so hard to say mama. The grammar mistakes my kids make when they’re talking that I don’t have the heart to correct because I love it too much. 

I miss a lot about those younger years that have already slipped away. My youngest is sick, much like in this picture, but he is too big to snuggle in my arms now when he’s running a fever. 

Today I had the thought, what if this is it? What if this IS the happiest I’ll ever be?
For a moment, I lingered in that thought as I stood over my sink and did the dishes. I started to cry.
Am I missing it? AM I? I felt a tug that maybe I was. Maybe I wasn’t relishing enough, and enjoying enough, and being present enough.
But, then I realized, it will never be ENOUGH. 

Read the rest in my substack ❤️
New year, same me. 😂 #mentalhealth #anxiety #de New year, same me. 😂
#mentalhealth #anxiety #depression
"I don't care" as I literally care about every sin "I don't care" as I literally care about every single thing.
I’ve got to admit - I’m kind of over all of th I’ve got to admit - I’m kind of over all of this. *sweeps arm generally at planet earth*

Look, I’ve never been a half glass full kind of gal. I can ALWAYS find the negative in every situation. 

But, right now it’s easy to say that I’m over it. It being.....

The state of our economy. Social media. People being unemployed. People being racist and homophobic. The debate over politics. People judging people. ALLLLLL of it. 

Everything is crap right now. We joke about it a lot. We have to in order to survive. 

It’s the one millionth day of January but Spring feels so far away. 

I’m over these four damn walls that we call home. 

Yeah, I know. Even as I’m typing this it all sounds like a bunch of ungrateful whiney BS. I hear it. I don’t need you to point it out, Karen. 

But, my guess is you’re reading this right now and realizing you’re over it too. Whatever “it” is in your life.

Some days the world feels like total crap. Everything is a mess. Everything costs too much. For E-V-E-R-Y-B-O-D-Y. 

Yes, even for you Karen. ➡️➡️ to keep reading.
Yes. Boundaries are healthy and good. And they mea Yes. Boundaries are healthy and good. And they mean someone loves you that much to communicate them! Love this wisdom from @wittyidiot
NEW POST ----> "This is not a post about loss of a NEW POST ----> "This is not a post about loss of a loved one. Or loss of a child. Those things are real, and they’re heart wrenching. And, this post is certainly not to compare that loss with the one I’m going to talk about.

But, the loss of yourself in motherhood is real. And It’s not talked about enough." 

Do you feel like you lost yourself in motherhood? How? I really want to know. 

Psss - I am in grad school to become a therapist, and am not ashamed to ask that you subscribe to my paid substack. I just lowered the cost to $36/year! That's like $4/month and you'll have access to all my previous posts, and some new weekly short posts to give you ideas to help with balancing motherhood and your own mental health. I'm learning a lot in school, and will only continue to do so, so subscribe and we'll support each other. ❤️
This memory made me laugh this morning. 🤣 This memory made me laugh this morning. 🤣
Saaaame. @womenwhorunwiththemoon Saaaame. @womenwhorunwiththemoon
I’m sorry are you really wearing doc martens and I’m sorry are you really wearing doc martens and a dress with spaghetti straps and a Tshirt under it while you’re telling me I’m doing it wrong? 🤣 Life is wild. Teenagers are fun.
Found in my pediatricians office. 🤣 What’s th Found in my pediatricians office. 🤣 What’s the moral of the story friends? If you think your household is always sick - it’s because they probably are. Kids make everything more germ-y
Here’s what I do know 👇 No one knows what th Here’s what I do know 👇

No one knows what they’re doing. 
We all feel like imposters. 
Our kids love us anyway. 
We’re all going to be OK. 
You’ve got this (as much as any of us do) 😘

#momspiration #momlife #funnymoms #memtalhealth #parentinglife #parentingquotes
"By trying to be perfect, we're actually trying to "By trying to be perfect, we're actually trying to avoid being human." 

Do you struggle with perfectionism? Parenthood has helped me quite a bit, but It's something I've battled my whole life. I still struggle occasionally, although it's gotten better. But, let's stop trying to avoid being human and instead embrace ourselves an in turn embrace the entire human race. ❤️ I'd love to hear how you embrace being imperfect. 

#perfecționism #mentalhealth #mentalhealthawareness #anxiety #imperfect #perfectpending #themotherload #thementalload
Mood. Mood.
Some of you wanted sources on my last reel where I Some of you wanted sources on my last reel where I said we only need to be getting it right 30% of the time for our kids to have secure attachments. Well I wrote a bit more about the concept of being the “good enough mother” a term coined in the 50’s by a researcher and pediatrician. Check it all out in my newest post. Link in profile.
It’s true! Researchers have found that as long a It’s true! Researchers have found that as long as you’re doing the repair after mistakes the other times - then 30% is enough! Sometimes I worry I’m not doing it right but I definitely know I’m doing it right 30% of the time! 
Probably a whole lot more to be honest. I bet you are too. #momlife #encouragement #momspiration
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