Endless amounts of laundry and dirty dishes are bad. Finger prints on the windows are annoying. Globs of toothpaste in the sink are gross.

The nighttime requests for one more kiss, hug, toy, drink of water or anything else that may delay bedtime are frustrating.

None of these things, however, are the hard part of being a mom.

Having toys and cheerios fall out of the car when you open the door is embarrassing. Taking a gaggle of little girls to the restroom is time consuming.

Clipping fingernails, cleaning ears, blowing noses, painting piggies and giving bubble baths are all part of the job.

But even those things are not the hard part of motherhood.

Trying to maintain a sense of normalcy when your life has become far from normal? That’s hard.

Continuing to make breakfast, lunch and dinner as if everything is just fine. Playing board games with the kids, doing homework at the kitchen table and going about business as usual when fear is threatening to take you under? That’s hard.

Teaching your children to trust God no matter what? Oh, that’s easy.

Doing it yourself?

Putting feet to what you preach? That’s the hard part of motherhood.