Emma Lamb is one-half of Lamb Design, a unique new online interiors store and consultancy service focusing on hand-crafted pieces with Irish, Nordic, Belgian and French sensibilities for your home and your children's rooms.
There are certain undeniable truths about being a mum that people will tell you before you become one, but you won’t listen or understand what they are talking about. They say things like "you will have to be selfless," "you won’t get as much sleep," "your marriage will change," and "your life is over as you know it."
What my kids have taught me about myself has been monumental. They’ve shown me who I really am. And their ability to bring out the best in me (and the worst) has been an important life lesson.
Here are 5 others:
1. Relinquish control
When you get pregnant, you relinquish all control over your body, what it will do and when. It is literally in the lap of the Gods. When I was expecting my first, I was determined to have a natural drug-free birth. I did hypnobirthing classes and decided I was going to ‘breath’ the baby out (yep, I know, I can hear the sniggering from here). A placenta abruption and emergency C-section later and what looked like a scene from the exorcist, my beautiful baby girl arrived. It was, literally, love at first sight. From that moment on, I realised no amount of planning could prepare you for giving birth and motherhood. I officially hung up my control-freak boots from then on and decided to just enjoy the journey.
2. Play like nobody is watching
My children have taught me the importance of slowing down and the importance of play. My brain tells me I don’t want to play; I don’t like to play, I don’t have time to play – the dishwasher needs emptying. But when I concede to dropping whatever I am doing and just sit down and help my daughter make a jigsaw or build Lego with my son, my day gets a little easier, and everyone ends up being that bit happier.
3. Carpe diem
Out of everything I am learning from my kids, living in the moment is the biggest struggle for me. It is hard when you are a mum living in the monotony of life to really live in the moment. To appreciate the moment you're in – whether that involves frantically driving kids around to the next activity or trying to juggle work emails while keeping one eye on homework.
My phone is my lifeline. By that I mean I work from it, my calendar is on it, I make phone calls with it, and I connect socially using it.
Some of my most guilty mum moments are when I realise that my children have been trying to talk to me, but I am busy reading a text or an email, completely shutting them out while in a technology bubble. It takes a conscious effort every day to put the technology down and listen.
It’s all the little moments that really matter the most, and I have learned to soak them up and not let life go by without truly enjoying it. Kids know how to live in the moment, and they show me every day that I need to stop thinking about what is next on the agenda and enjoy the now. My mum constantly reminds me to soak up every minute because they are small for such a short time and in a blink of an eye, they will be gone, and you will be the one trying to get
their attention!
4. Do not forget your dreams
Before I had children, I had a full-time job I loved, but I always knew once I had kids I wanted to be a stay-at-home-mum. The thought of handing them over to someone else filled me with dread. I thought that having children would complete my life. I thought that it was all I needed to fulfill me as a person. What I have learned
after having children is that it's possible to do both. For the past six years, I have been a full-time stay-at-home-mum with all the bells and whistles that go with that, and I wouldn’t change it for the world. But now as they start pre-school and primary school I feel ready to give myself the chance to follow my own creative goals and do something for me. And Lamb was born.
5. We are all human
Parenthood is far more difficult than I anticipated it would be. I have learned that no one is perfect and there will be days where I am rocking it and feel like a super-mum, hanging on the beach, baking or painting. And other days, I will feel like the worst mum, skipping bath and story time, and generally being a grump. Some days, I can do it all with a smile on my face, and others, I feel like I am just not cut out for it. The beautiful and lucky thing is that my kids still love me on the good and bad days. They are my best creation.
Check out Emma's perfectly curated selection of homewares – be warned – you are going to want to buy every single thing, we are officially hooked here at HerFamily!
Here are a few of our faves: Lamb Design.
