A healthy desire to become a mother comes from a desire to give rather than to receive. It’s a ludicrous idea to think that we became mothers just to hear our son or daughter say “Thank you Mom!” Most women don’t have children to satisfy a need for appreciation. However, when we become mothers, we have needs we didn’t even expect to have.
Motherhood can be thankless.
We feel like failures when we feel unappreciated. Many of our days are spent serving everyone else in our home. We eat cold meals interrupted by trips to the potty. Even though Daddy may be in the same room, our children come to us for every thing they need. They refuse the carrots on their own plates, and then beg for a bite of Mommy’s. In the middle of the night, the baby rejects Daddy’s attempts at comforting him. Should I go on? I could.
In a work environment, employees receive rewards such as bonuses, pats on the back, and annual evaluations. Need I remind you that the paycheck every two weeks is another reward? Those built-in reassurances of a job well done do not exist in motherhood. Because we don’t receive tangible rewards and appreciation in motherhood, we feel insignificant and unappreciated.
Mothering is a job.
I could shift into inspirational tones at this point and attempt to make you feel appreciated, but I won’t try. (This time.) It is my sincere desire to instill within the hearts of moms a feeling of significance, but that task is too big for me alone. This entire blog is meant to aide in those efforts. And, I don’t want you to become dependent on me to lift you up. As moms, we have to learn how to meet some of our needs ourselves.
Your Assignment.
Create your own job description as a mother. Write out a job description for yourself. Fight off the arguments going through your head right now. You can take 10 minutes to jot it down. See if it doesn’t help you realize your value and abilities.
If you have a blog, post your job description and then link back to it in a comment below. Or, write a job description in the comment section. I would love to hear from you and other moms will be inspired to see what you’ve written.
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@tunitupmom: I can relate to that! I look forward to your response.
Wow! A challenging task, but I like it. This morning I felt like a total failure when I couldn’t find my last pair of contact lenses, and as a result, missed out on the one things that’s for me….dance class. I will sit down with this when I’m in a better frame of mind, and can see more clearly (pun totally intended!)
.-= turnitupmom´s last blog ..The Great Kindness Challenge =-.