1. You’re the mom of your office. You check in to see if your coworkers are okay, you’re always somehow mediating situations, quelling tensions, bringing snacks…
2. And you do the same for your friends. You are the one they turn to when they need advice, a shoulder to cry on, someone to listen, someone to house them, fix their hair before a date and help them get better when they’re sick.
3. You don’t see any of the above as a chore — you love it.
4. You’ve been pretending to be a mom to your siblings/nieces/nephews/cats for so long that it feels second nature by this point.
5. You rest heavy objects on your hips to carry them.
6. Your heart explodes at the sight of a peanut-sized infant in a restaurant, so much so that you lose track of whatever conversation you were having.
7. You have your maternity photoshoot planned in your head already that you won’t post on Instagram or TikTok; just share with your close family/friends.
8. You’re determined to have kids whether or not a partner is involved, society be damned.
9. You hate that you have to justify why you want a child, as it is so often associated with taking the “easiest” route (you know that couldn’t be farther from the truth.)
10. The ultimate dating deal-breaker is whether or not they want kids.
11. You’ve spent a good amount of time evaluating the parenting style under which you were raised, and have begun devising what your plan of attack will be.
12. Even if all that means is you’ve decided you’re going to let your kids wear whatever the hell they want.
13. You’re on an absolute high when you get to rub a kid’s back and sing to them while they fall asleep. You know there’s no more peaceful a feeling.
14. You consider your own mother one of your biggest role models and influencers.
15. You’ve Googled — completely seriously — different aspects and health concerns about pregnancy, so you’re prepared.
16. You can think of no more noble a task than being a conduit for all that is natural and divine and beautiful in life — making another one.
