Your only a mother....

Yesterday was career day at my youngest son's preschool. All month long, they have been discussing different professions which were mostly public service related. The culmination of the month was yesterday's event, whereby each child brought in an item that was a clue to what they wanted to be when they are grown. I reminded my son yesterday morning that he needed to bring in an item. Upon my asking, Matt stated that he was going to bring in a basketball, because he wanted to be a basketball coach. First he asked me if basketball coaches get paid. I replied yes. Then he said, "good then that would be a good profession." Of course in his mind, there was a direct correlation between a profession and monetary compensation. While the brain of a soon to be 5 year old is continuously thinking and changing, within minutes Matthew changed his mind. He told me he was now going to be a Marine, because he had told his cousin Charlie, who is also in his class, that he wanted to be a basketball coach and therefore he thought Charlie would do the same thing. So a Marine he would be. He picked one of his dad's U.S.M.C. hats and put it in his bag.

I dropped my future jar head off at school, and continued on with my day. I went grocery shopping with Thomas in tow. I then brought all my groceries home, put them away, cleaned up a bit, played with Thomas, and then it was time to pick up Matthew. While waiting in the foyer of the preschool something on the wall caught my eye. Apparently the teachers has asked each child what their parents' professions were. I scanned the list for Matthew's name. "My mom cleans the house, and my dad is a police officer." I felt an immediate knot form in my stomach. I smiled and laughed a bit. At this point more parents arrived and where huddled around the list, waiting for their children. Matt was dismissed, and we headed home.

For a little while later, I kept thinking about Matt's description of what I do - "my mom cleans the house...." Is that really how he sums up my duties? After some contemplation, I was okay. In fact, Matt was completely correct in his statement - I do clean the house. Of course there are many more duties associated with my job as mother, but he realized one of them. He did not say my mom does nothing. No, he clearly defined one of my tasks. The role of a mother has many defining elements. While us mothers, have some common threads we all have a slightly different job description and that's okay. That being said, I still remember a comment made to my mom a number of years ago. In a family conversation, a certain someone refuted a statement that my mom made. That certain someone, who at the time was not yet a mother, said (to my mother) "you're only a mother." Clearly she was correct in her statement. My mom was, in fact, a mother but what that certain someone failed to realize is what the role of a mother encompasses - it is vast. It is huge. I often wonder how that certain someone would feel if someone referred to her as being "only a mother". Certainly she would now realize how much many duties fall under this job title!

For a good laugh and another tale of motherhood at it's finest, check out Lisa at Happy Days!