Mom- the only title in the world that any woman can have without any degrees! We don’t go to school to learn how to be a mommy, the children don’t come with manuals, and we are on call 24 hours a day with no pay. Talk about over-worked and under-paid!?
We are teachers, nurses, step-parents, doctors, do-it-yourself specialists, analysts, friends, organizers, chauffeurs, chefs, bouncers, maids, wives (a job in itself), keepers of the peace and so much more- all rolled into one name- Mom.
We are “One Size Fits All” and we fit the bill easily, almost naturally. Some of us are home all the time with our kids, and others work while caring for their children. Some of us play Dad too! All of us are under-estimated and under-appreciated. And while, every now and again, the benefits of all our hard work are realized, we are still desperately under-compensated. We don’t get days off, and we don’t punch out at 5 o’clock.
Our parents tell us “little Susy was out of diapers at 6 months old, and washing laundry at 4 years old.” , failing to mention that in their day, family ties were strong and the village raised the child. Our husbands cannot understand why we cannot keep the house spotless at any given moment of the day, while doctors want us to devote all our time to immunizations and mental health. Meanwhile, your third grader has science homework on a lesson which hasn’t yet been taught in the classroom, your one year old wants a sippy “right now”, and your 16 year old wants to know why she can’t get her nose pierced and is vowing to move far away as soon as she is 18 because you are “being so unfair!”. The dog is barking, the phone is ringing, someone is at the door and it’s only Monday. In the back of our minds we are wondering how we are going to get through the week, but by Friday, all will be well.
Everything will be done, but we won’t get a promotion, or a over-achiever certificate. The newspaper headlines will read “Eighty-Nine Year old saves stray puppy” instead of “Mom makes it through the week with sanity intact”. No fame, fortune or glory for us. Just the promise of repeating the same impossible feats next week and the week after that!
And, it is with all this in mind, that I have decided to change the title of my blog to “One Size Fits All”. Because we as moms, fit every job description. We do more than any one profession does, and we obviously don’t do it for the money! Plus I feel like complaining today! Hey, we all have our days, right?
