On behalf of mothers all over the world, I wish every day, people everywhere all took the time to express how much we love and appreciate all that you are and stand for. You have endured willingly, countless hours of nuturing and raising tender souls for the sake of pure and unconditional love. It is only one day a year that women can enjoy the recognition of being a part of such a spiritual and sacred calling I've grown to respect.
All I've ever wanted and will always want to be is a wife and mother. I can't think of anything more rewarding than being the soul nuturer of my family. Sure, you may think that it's easy for me to say now. Being a young adult and single does attest to that. However, because I obviously can't aquire those blessings tomorrow and need a career to support myself, I've chosen a field relatively close. I am what I like to call a "Childcare Profesional" but I'm basically a daycare worker/preschool teacher. My job is to tend to the emotional/physical/academic needs of 30+ children all between the ages of 0 to 12, 7 hours a day, 5 days a week, for minimum wage. And it is so far the best job I have ever had.
My daily routine goes as followed: I show up at the facility, wipe down the urine covered toilet seats - occasionally some other areas - then I set up the mats for naptime and supervise the kids outside while they're getting washed up for lunch. Once they'v eaten, one by one I make sure all have used the bathroom before they take a nap and direct them to their mat. After all is quiet, I go to the infant room to supervise the sleeping babies while teachers go on their breaks. This is the time where I clean, feed the infants, burb them and get thrown up on. The first day this happened, my mother said, "Welcome to our wonderful, vomitous world." And it's true. Over time, one cannot help but smile after babies let out a loud one after downing 6 ounces. Continuing on, during nap I set up the afternoon snack of the day, then wake all the kids up to eat. And I tell ya, waking up a sleeping child is like poking bear with a stick - one should always go in expecting to lose an appendage. After all the mats are put away, I supervize some more, clean the facility, set up dinner and spend the entire day recieving the unconditional love of a child. It's a job where I'm garunteed a hug every day.
Now, I only say this because what I do is only a taste of what mothers do 24/7. They don't get to go home and relax at the end of the day, nor do they get paid for it. And my job is only temporary. Once that moment of my life comes where I'll have to move on, I'll be leaving all those kids behind, whereas for mothers it's a lifetime experience. I look at my own mother and see all the sacrifices she has made and I'm sure there are a lot more that go unnoticed. I see a beautiful, nuturing woman who will gladly give up anything for the sake of her children. It is her example alone that has taught me how to teach the kids at my school. She has endured so much and I have no idea how she manages it all. But I am proud to be her daughter and can only hope to be just as marvelous as she is.
I called her up to wish her a happy mother's day and she said, "Happy Mother's Day to you." I asked her why she would tell me that considering I'm not a mother. And she said, "Without you, I couldn't be a mother. And one day, you're going to be a mother, too. But mostly, you dedicate yourself to helping children grow every day. Although you don't have the soul role as mom, you are a mother."
It's that conformation alone that I can look forward to the wonderful, vomitous world of motherhood. I love you, mom. Happy Mother's Day.
