Yesterday morning, my husband Shawn walked into our bedroom, chuckling as he relayed to me a conversation between him and our 7-year old son, Cade. Now please keep in mind that I homeschool Cade as well as our 6-year old daughter, Lucy. Also keep in mind that probably about twice a week, I walk into Shawn’s office, eyes brimming with tears, and resolutely announce, “I can’t do this [homeschooling] anymore; it’s too much. I’m gonna lose my mind.”
Hence the conversation between Shawn and Cade:
Cade: One of my friends at baseball doesn’t like going to school, but his mom doesn’t know about homeschooling.
Shawn: Buddy, homeschooling is a lot of work.
Cade: Mom doesn’t think so.
My response: uncontrollable laughter.
But isn’t that just like a child to think that all this “being a mom” stuff is really rip-roaring easy fun. Don’t get me wrong. It is fun. But it is not easy fun.
It’s hard work. Of course, I never realized this fact till I had kids of my own.
Never once, in my eighteen years as a resident under my mother’s roof, did I ponder the number of laundry loads she did in a day. I never marveled at the fact that there was always, always food in the fridge, meals ready at my finger tips. I didn’t wonder if there were other things she might want to do at 9 in the evening rather than running the vacuum and loading the dishwasher.
Those were just things a mother did.
And now they are the things that I do.
I didn’t think enough about my mom when I was a child, but now I think about her all the time, while I’m folding laundry and changing dirty diapers and tidying up the kitchen. I think that it would be nice if she was right here standing beside me, like when I was a little girl, and I could thank her for doing each of those chores a million times over for me.
Mom, you are and have always been a spectacular mother, sacrificing in ways that I will never know or understand. I love you more than words.
I hope all you moms out there have a wonderful Mother’s Day!
This is a wonderful post, Maile! I think about my mom and my grandmothers all the time too. All the housework they did, all the carting around they did, all the sewing my grandmother did and all the cooking they all did even though my mom didn't love to cook.I think about all the diapers they changed and all the potty training they did, all the books they read, and all the clothing put away. This is a great post and I know your mom will appreciate it!
ReplyDeleteHi, Maile. Thanks for the questions/comment on my site. Yes, I do share my recipes...in fact, the garlic shrimp/chicken one is in my post queue so it'll be up soon. You might want to "follow" my site, or "like" it on FB so you'll be sure not to miss it. Yes, our children eat when we do..in fact, you've inspired another post topic for me...maybe something about eating with your young kids, getting them to eat what you do, etc. Thanks! Have a great day. Hopefully we'll "talk"again soon!
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