“Mommy, when I grow up, I want to be just like Daddy.”
“Oh yeah? Which job do you want to have? Daddy does a lot of different things doesn’t he?”
“I want to be ALL of them! I want to be a welder-man, and a firefighter-man, and a construction-man, and a city council-man, and a regular daddy.”
“Those are all awesome things! And you can be all of them! What are some of the jobs that Mommy does?”
…
…
…
“Well, you cook for us. That’s important… And now you can feed the baby too!”
We pulled into the grocery store parking lot, and I couldn’t help but laugh at the irony of it. Yup. In the eyes of my oldest, I am in charge of food disbursement and apparently that is all.
I guess he is partially right. I am in charge of feeding – and with a newborn – it does seem like all that I do some days. Feed the baby. Make breakfast. Feed the baby. Make snacks. Feed the baby. Make lunch. Feed the baby. Make dinner. Feed the baby, feed the baby, feed the baby. Make breakfast. It is an endless cycle of food preparation.
But honestly, there are moments that it would be nice to be noticed for more than milk.
Amiright?
I mean, at least give me some credit for the laundry. Once, I asked my son, “Where do you think all of our clean clothes come from?”
His answer?
“From that big pile in your room, Momma.”
Point proven, son. I need to get better at folding and putting away clean clothes. But… who do you think sorted, washed, dried and make sure there were clean undies for your little booty before school today?
Yup. This lady. This lady who is mostly in charge of food prep.
And while we are at it, how did you GET to school this morning?
That’s right. Your personal chauffer. I run all the local and long-distance routes. I will be taking you to school, church, doctor’s appointments, soccer practice, the park, and anywhere else you might ever need to go.
It doesn’t need to be said that being a mom is often a thankless job. It is full of long days, longer nights and endless work. And while what we do may go unnoticed, it is still important. It is still purposeful.
Because we do more than they will ever see.
No, they won’t be able to see the hours that I spent holding them when they were sick, but mommy was there.
There will be no permanent markings next to the bathtub where I have spent hours getting splashed and soaked…
If they could only see the path that I have worn from my bedroom to theirs as I stumbled to check on them in the night and ran to them when they woke-up crying my name…
There will not be any physical markings from the hours I will spend praying for them and for their future careers, spouses, children…
And their foreheads won’t show where I kissed them after they fell asleep…
There are no indentations in the carpet around the couch from all the games of chase…
And there are no worn spots on the front porch where we have sat and enjoyed all of our popsicles…
But I have been there for all of it.
And Momma, while they might not ever say thank you for all of those moments, while it might be nice to be noticed for ALL that we do for them, their tiny arms around our necks at bedtime remind us that we don’t do it for the praise. We don’t do it for the pat on the back.
We do it for them. Because we love them… Just because we love them.
So, today, as you find yourself in another school pick-up line, or checking out with their favorite snacks at the grocery store, or reading their favorite book just one more time – remember this.
You are so loved, Momma. You are so important to them. They appreciate and love you more than they know to say right now. You are responsible for calming fears. You are responsible for wiping tears. And you are responsible for making their little worlds go round.
And if no one has said it in awhile – thank you for all that you do.
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