Roles and Value

How did the definition of mom morph into driver to all places known to man, finder of all things unseen by a child’s eye, keeper of all schedules devised by everyone else, and maker of all meals eaten by all ages? 

Birthing a child was the easy part.  I know, do not tell that to a new mom who has just spent the last day and a half pushing to kingdom come to bring her little one into this world.  Also, I grant you that having no more than two hours of sleep at a time deprives a mom of necessary functions.  Those days feel like an eternity.  Yet here I am.  I survived all that.  Sometimes I wonder if I will be as successful with the rest of this mom thing.

The more I think, the more I think that I should not think so much.  Maybe that is part of the problem.  I have to always think:  who is going to be at dinner tonight, where do I have to go for which soccer game, when is the next doctor’s appointment, what is the plan for school this year, how do I discipline my children, why are we doing what we do?  I like amusement rides, but seriously, this merry-go-round/roller coaster makes my head spin.    

These are all good questions.  Yet, I have to come back to this:  what am I supposed to do today with the kids whom God has placed in my care.  No, I did not birth them all.  Still, I have the responsibility to mother them.  My challenge is to view my role not as a job but as a privilege.  Today was one of those just survive the job day – the kind where you wait for the bell at the end of the day that lets everyone know it’s over, go home. 

Then I hear a child express his frustration and confusion at a conversation he overheard, and I am a mom.  I see a child prepare to pitch her first book, and I am a mom.  I sit with a toddler who needs to sleep but refuses, and I am a mom.  I chat with a child who anticipates an exciting future but has to struggle to get there, and I am a mom.  I watch as a child is sadly taken from our home, and I am a mom.  I walk beside a child, encouraging him in his plan for a 10K, and asking about the kids in his class this year, and I am a mom.  I place a child in time-out for yet another time and get a hug a little while later, and I am a mom.  I watch a child fall in love with God again, and I am a mom.

My job as mom may be redefined multiple times.  At this stage in my life, admitting that I do not always get it despite that fact that I have been a mother for over 19 years is humbling and freeing at the same time.  Stepping back to see the tiny facets cut into the gem of motherhood makes me appreciate the value of this role a bit more.