Motherhood: My greatest adventure

Posted by: Erin McEvilly

In celebration of Mother’s Day, I have been invited to contribute to the MOBlog. I hope I can leave you with warm and fuzzy thoughts about your mothers and inspire you toward great acts of love.

Mom’s Legacy

First off you should know that my mom has won awards for her gift of hospitality. When you are a guest in her house, you are family. That’s why all our friends call her Momma Sandefur. And she wouldn’t have it any other way. 
While I hope to be half the hostess my mom is, she has also imparted me with great wisdom that has impacted my life tremendously. 

  • “This too shall pass.” 
“Erin Marie, I know you can’t see the forest through the trees right now, but you have got to get a grip, young lady, and know that LIFE WILL GO ON!”
 
John Maxwell may have put it most eloquently, but my mom is the one who taught me that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. The sting of disappointment only lasts as long as I allow it to. 
  • “Pretty is as pretty does.”

Growing up between two bothers didn’t allow for many opportunities to play dress up. So when little girls came to play at our house that’s all I wanted to do. I would literally wear this game out any chance I got. 
Like every other girl in the world, I have always wanted to be beautiful.  It was my mom who taught me that true, profound beauty comes from the inside. The heart and all that flows from it is what makes a person pretty or not so pretty. 

Motherhood: Life Changing Adventure!

On November 14th, 2012 I was inducted into the great league of Motherhood. People always told me that it would change my world. For some reason this is usually said with an undertone of “You’ve been warned”. Truly, my world has been changed ROCKED in the most amazing ways. Being Owen’s mom is one of the greatest adventures of my life.  

 

(Photo by Megan Williams https://www.facebook.com/meganwphotos)

In the beginning Greg and I were mostly concerned with Owen’s basic physical health.  Breathing, eating, sleeping - This is what he needs to survive and it’s my job to make sure he gets what he needs. So, like most new moms, I become completely preoccupied, down right obsessed with learning and providing the very best for these basic needs. 


When Owen was three months old, my grip on him was loosened as I made my way back into the working world. While this transition was hard, I can’t belly ache too much. I had it pretty easy since Owen’s wonderful grandmothers agreed to tag-team as his caretakers. He was in the most capable, loving hands of two women I trusted (almost) completely. This is the process of learning to let go and let God.


(Photo by Megan Williams https://www.facebook.com/meganwphotos)

Now that Owen is 18mo old, Greg and I are in constant awe of how quickly he is developing into a wild-at-heart little boy with an insatiable longing to explore. John Muir said, “The core of a man’s heart is undomesticated and that is good.” Every little boy dreams of being the hero, the great adventurer and saving the world from evil. These are good dreams that I want to embrace and encourage. 

I cannot tell you how many times a day I say the words, “Son, coffee tables are not for standing on.”  But, I actually love watching him climb the coffee table and dominate his little mountain. He is always so proud of himself when he gets to the top. This enamors me!

The last thing I want to do is stifle his adventurous spirit with my impulse to hover over and protect him.  Protecting him is only a small portion of my job.
 
Equip and Inspire for life …

My primary job is to tell him what to believe. Yes, you read that right. The rest of the world is in a big hurry to tell him what to believe, so why shouldn’t I also take the opportunity to help mold his worldview? 
At the end of the day, I cannot control his beliefs anymore than I can keep him from climbing on the table when I’m not looking. But that doesn’t mean I won’t bestow some wisdom (along with many prayers) just as my mom did for me. Learning to let go and let God comes full circle.

Together with Greg, I want to train Owen to become a compassionate man, respectful of women, loyal and faithful in marriage, a strong leader, secure in his masculinity and giving of himself and his resources.

 

Adventure of Changing Lives!

Part of the motivation for creating the Kammok brand is to be engaged in and held accountable daily for this call on our life. You may or may not know that the symbol of our brand is a FEMALE red kangaroo. It is specifically female because of her dedication to nurturing and caring for her young in one of the world’s harshest environments. 
 
At this moment my heart is held captive at the thought of mothers holding the hand of their malaria stricken children in Africa. These mothers are true heroes and worthy of celebrating.  The reason Kammok exists is to equip and inspire our community for the adventure of changing lives. One way we do that is by bringing much needed aid to these families afflicted by malaria. There is no better way to teach Owen all the characteristics I previously mentioned than to try and be an example of this – dedicating our time, resources, and talents to truly love others. 

For every Kammok Roo, Dragon Fly and Glider sold, 5 children in Africa receive life saving medication and malaria prevention. FIVE mothers will let out a sigh of relief and know that malaria is not going to cut their child’s life short. This is the reason we do what we do as parents, as business owners and together as citizens of this earth. 
 
Our hope as an organization is to Move Others Beyond the mundane, day-to-day pursuit of self-fulfillment. We want to spur our community (The MOB) on to live a self-sacrificial life, to make an impact, to choose love instead of fear, and to engage in adventure that changes lives! These are our hopes and dreams for ourselves, for our son and for you.

-Erin McEvilly

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