A Hard Job

This is when i love being a Mom

Nate was out of town last week from Tuesday morning until Friday night. His company sent him to Texas to stay in a nice hotel on the beach and learn how to do his job better. He called me on Thursday night to tell me about the incredibly fancy dinner he had just been treated to. He was fed a tasty steak with beautifully presented and yummy vegetables on the side. He talked to interesting people during dinner.

I had just eaten frozen french fries and fishsticks. We had sliced cucumbers served in a plastic baby bowl as our side. I tried to have some conversation with my three little kids while coaxing them to eat.

As Nate talked to me after his dinner, he was walking down to the heated, beautiful pool for a nice evening swim to get a little exercise.

After dinner i cleaned up, got three kids in pajamas, teeth brushed, scriptures read, prayers said, and finally in bed; then i washed dishes and made school lunches for the next day. I barely had time for a heated shower, let alone any exercise.

Sometime during our phone call it hit me, Motherhood is a hard job! And in my quiet, lonely house i had a little bit of a melt down. There is always more work for a mom to do and most of it is not at all glamorous. There are very few tangible benefits for a mom. I do not get taken out on business lunches, my "company" will probably never voluntarily send me on a business trip to the beach even if it is to learn how to do my job better. If i do go on such a trip it will require much planning and coordinating to ensure that everyone survives while i am away. I do not get "vacation days" or "sick days" or "paid holidays". I do not get to collaborate with people from around the world to increase and improve productivity. And most of the "projects" i work on each day get undone before my "boss" even gets to review my performance. Don't i deserve all those little perks too?

But in that sadness i forced myself to list the benefits of my career. Like Talmage jabbering about everything as we run errands and giving me big smiles when i glance back, like Morgan climbing into my bed to give me a long hug in the mornings, like being the first person to hear about Emma's day, like a husband who loves me and appreciates all that i do (even if the house is crazy every evening when he gets home), like getting a hug and an "I love you" from my kids when i drop them off for school. Like collaborating with some of the finest mothers and best friends ever at our weekly playgroups (many different groups throughout the years who have all blessed and taught me). Like knowing my kids better than anyone else. Like knowing i am doing what the Lord wants me to do. It is actually a really long list. The more i thought about it i thought i really do love my kids and my husband and i am glad that i get to be here for them and get to be the one they rely on. And the biggest benefit is that i get to keep all of them forever. My "retirement savings" will never run out, benefits will never expire. What i teach my kids and the people they become will be with me always. I still say it is a really hard job, but i guess it is all worth it, right now and in the end.


POST EDIT: I've had this post composed for a week now but wasn't able to publish it because of a broken computer. As it turns out this last weekend my "company" (i.e., my wonderful husband and some dear friends) sent me on a weekend vacation. Nate kidnapped me away on Friday evening for a get away while friends watched our kids. We ate at a nice restaurant and stayed in a nice hotel (no view of the beach but it was OK). It was a nice, much needed rest. The best part of all was that on Saturday we got to go to the temple together. I got a little divine instruction on how to do this most eternal job a little better. It was such a blessing. Thanks to everyone who helped make it happen.