Majoring on Motherhood without Minoring on ME!

Being a Mom is a Nobel Profession, but one that goes unnoticed and much of the time we feel like it has no purpose. Moms often feel out of control and defeated from the battles of the day. They tend to feel more confined and trapped by their role as a mom, and oftentimes feel like they have left themselves somewhere in the life they had before they entered this thing called “childrearing”. It is as if womanhood morphs into motherhood (you were a woman and now you are a mother). We would like to challenge and affirm you with the assurance and the reality you can be both successfully!



Moms play the part of a chauffeur, gardener, family counselor, maintenance woman, housekeeper, dog trainer, cook, errand runner, bookkeeper/budget manager, interior decorator, caterer, dietitian, secretary, and hostess, not to mention the duties and commitments outside the home. On any given day of the week, moms multitask any number of these roles simultaneously. 



We don't know about you, but we do many of the tasks on the list above on a regular basis as moms, even if it is simply chauffeuring kids to school each day... At times the "full time job" motherhood is overwhelming and seems meaningless, so we wanted to take this "position" of motherhood to a more established level...even if it still goes without compensation. Join us in taking on the challenge of not just being moms, but being a competent, professional and polished mom.




Competent
Competent is defined as "having the necessary ability, knowledge or skill to do something successfully." As with any full time position, there needs to be some awareness of the task at hand. As moms, you can feel a bit insulated from the world. Home is often the “office,” and you can work with your robe on if you feel like it. Though this seems like a luxury to some, others feel a bit isolated and out of touch with the events and happenings in the world around them. Competent moms, whether at home full time or not, keep up with current events and pressing issues in their community. They strive to make an impact, not only on their children, but the world around them.



Professional
Professional is defined as "engaged in a specified activity as one's main paid occupation rather than as a pastime." As moms, we do not get paid monetarily, but our payment comes in improved report cards, potty trained toddlers and a dog that scratches at the door to go outside (to name a few). If we take a moment to see our "job" as a full time profession instead of something we have left the professional world to do, then the benefits and compensation become more apparent. Maybe not immediately or where anyone else can see them, but we see them and they are sweet because they last a lifetime. Even if you have a profession in addition to motherhood, know that you are doubly employed and you have an equal opportunity to practice “professionalism” in the home as well as in your career!



Polished
Polished is defined as "refined, sophisticated or elegant". This is an area that mom's so often put on the back burner. Often when we strive to be competent, and professional mothers, we forget to allow room to be polished as well. The little time we get for ourselves is often found sitting in the carpool line (if the toddler is in the back seat is sleeping), checking our email while our children nap or escaping to the bathroom for some "alone time" only to hear a knock on the door followed by "mommy, can you put more batteries in my Leapster when you're done." This does not constitute "time for us," and this certainly does not allow a mom to feel polished, no matter how professional or competent. Mom's have to be proactively polished...the opportunity to feel and be polished does not come without a full on five pronged attack in the areas of personal care, girlfriend time, spiritual devotion, free time, and fun. When you find the time and proactively allow for these areas in your life, you begin to realize that in addition to being a mom you are also a woman and the two do not have to be exclusive from one another.






HERE IS HOW OUR READERS FEEL!
A MOTHER OF 3 BOYS

"Sometimes I think I'll look like a slacker if I just stay home and don't "work".  I was just telling my husband that my day is full of interrupted tasks.  He said, "So is mine."  And I said, "No it isn't!  You HAVE to complete tasks or you would be fired!  Plus, my goals for each day are laundry and dishes and cooking, and they are NEVER  completed, so when I don't complete them I feel like I'm no good!"  

I was talking to my son's teacher the other day.  She is older and has one child...a daughter in high school.  I was telling her I felt like maybe I'd go back to work when my youngest goes to school (I think I say that b/c that's what I think I should say, not what I really want) and she said, "Why would you want to go back to work?  You have three children and you won't have time to take care of your family AND do well at work.  I did it b/c I only had one to take care of.  You should stay home."  What she said wasn't earth shattering, but it gave me permission from "the world" to be ok with my position as homemaker.  Why is that such a difficult job to embrace??!!  Why is it so difficult to find significance???"




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Redeeming Time in the Carpool Line
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Majoring On Motherhood without Minoring on ME!
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