"To Nora! Cheers!" or I Love Being A Mom, So What?

I was just reading over my last blog and realized that it seems as though I'm complaining. I'm not. The day described did sound particularly bad but strangely enough it is a typical day for me. I didn't even realize that it was all that bad until I had gone back read what I had written.

Being a mom, especially of young children, is really hard. It is a 24 hour 7 day a week job. It was hard when I was working full time out of the home. It is a hard job now that I am home with the kids. Whether I am with my kids or I am away from them for a short time I worry and think about them constantly.

I have been working in a hospital emergency department as a Health Unit Coordinator since the summer of 2000. Before having kids I supposed it was the perfect job for me (If I don't count the demeaning size of the paychecks.) I get to be a part of a team that includes very intelligent hard working professionals, Nurses, Doctors, Social Workers, Techs etc. It is an excellent position to learn new and interesting things. Every shift involves some sort of exciting drama and I can be a part of it by sitting behind a desk and not having to get my hands dirty.  

Today I believe that working in the Emergency Department is boring in comparison to being a mom. In fact now I count working in the ER as a nice little break from motherhood. Being a mom is so much more demanding and challenging. Working in the Emergency Department has never brought me as much joy and fulfillment as being a mom.

As a mom I get to experience little joys everyday like seeing little Ryan stand up on his own for the first time, hearing Nora sing, "I Am Like a Star" or "I Love to See the Temple." She also does a fabulous rendition of The Little Mermaids, "Under The Sea" during bath time. I love it when Ryan is crying and Nora puts on a silly act until he is laughing so hard that he can't stop. I love it when we are eating dinner and Nora proposes a thousand toasts...to herself! "To Nora! Cheers!" I love it when I make kissing noises and Ryan takes that as his cue to give me a big wet slobbery kiss. I love it when I tell Nora that she has to have some piece of clothing on before dinner and she comes down in her swimsuit, or comes downstairs in her dad's shirt and shoes talking in a low voice...

The other night I was rocking Ryan in his room with all of the lights off. I had the lullaby music playing, he was snuggled up with me drinking his bottle and drifting off to dreamland. It was one of the most relaxing, peaceful, happy moments in my life. I was filled with so much love for this tiny human in my arms. I then realized that he would be turning one in a few months and that he wouldn't be drinking bottles anymore. In just a few short months these moments of snuggling and rocking with little Ryan will probably come to an end. How short my time with these precious little monsters.


Kids grow up so fast, I only have a short time to be a mommy and then they will be off and gone and on their way. I am committed to enjoy every stage of their lives a little bit more, and worry less about the demanding, messy part of being a mom. So what if my house isn't tidy? So what if there are toys everywhere and the laundry is piling up? So what if play dough gets stuck in the carpet, and the walls are covered with peanut-butter-jelly-finger stains? So what if they aren't dressed in designer clothes looking like baby gap models everyday? So what if I have boogers all over my shirt? So what if Nora is sporting her favorite swimwear during dinner in January? So what if I have ugly outdated clothes and no make-up on? Nora and Ryan are my number one priority. Molding, shaping and teaching my little ones is my calling in life and I know it is the most important thing I will ever do. I am going to enjoy the doing and not focus so hard on the getting it done. And my new attitude is SO WHAT?

What is important is that I work hard to make sure that my babies know that they are always loved. What is important is that I work hard to make sure that they are taught to treat others with love and compassion. And what is important is that I find the joy in being a mother everyday.

I LOVE BEING A MOM!