Today, I’m writing from my daughter’s hospital room after a mostly sleepless week. She will be okay, but she has been very ill. Of course, due to pandemic guidelines, she can’t have any visitors—not even her dad. My husband came to her window. Her face lit up when she saw him and I couldn’t help but to think back to the days of having toddlers underfoot; scraping gooey Cheerios off my socks; wearing bodily fluids every day; changing diapers; bathing, feeding, clothing and laundering while trying to cook and serve three meals a day. After all that and more, my husband would walk through the door and the kids would run to him like he was a star! Things haven’t changed. But what has changed is that I have come to understand the importance of parenting, whether or not my family or society gets it.
Last night, my girl felt homesick, exhausted and overly-emotional from being poked, prodded, questioned and just having a mostly sleepless week of feeling crummy. I sat next to her bed and sang to her. She started to cry. I asked, “Why are you crying?” She replied, “I’m just so thankful to have a mom who cares!”
If I hadn’t needed to be strong for her, I would have burst into tears myself!
Here’s the thing: it seems like nobody notices moms because we’re always there. And you know that we all tend to take the people we can count on for granted. But then that moment comes along—the one that you may miss if you blink—when your daughter wants her mom. Or when your teenager says, “Okay, love you, Mom” before he gets off the phone. Maybe it’s when your toddler runs to hug your leg when his dad is chasing him around the house. All of these little moments are the proof of importance of parenting. Mom, what you do matters!
So, why not celebrate these moments? Because it’s easy to take those little moments, that happen more frequently than we realize, for granted!
Today, things are a little different. Instead of offering five things to do, I want to offer you three BIG things to recognize in yourself. They are important, so take them to heart; think on them; and celebrate all the things you do!
A Mom’s Work Matters! The Importance of Parenting
- You are changing the world—I know that’s a total cliché, but this one is true! While I sang to my daughter last night, I was changing her world. She went from being scared and homesick to comforted and restful.
And while I was with my daughter changing her world, my mom was changing the world for my other daughter and son. They are capable of being home alone until my husband gets there. Instead, my mom jumped in her car to bring my other kids to her house as soon as she found out we left for the hospital. This way, they could have a fun day, instead of worrying about their sister. She is there, schooling them for me; loving them for me; and giving my other daughter the attention that she has been lacking lately. My mom is still taking care of me by taking care of my kids for me!
- Every snotty nose you wipe matters—Many moms do not understand the psychology behind how every.single.thing they do to take care of their children encourages a healthy bond and healthy brain development. I have parented children who have had those needs neglected. It is amazing how many things our children learn to do that we take for granted. My six-year-old foster son would let milk just run out of his mouth and down his face whenever he ate because he had not had his face wiped gently by his mother.
It is so very easy to forget that every single mundane task you do as a mom matters! Wiping behinds, washing pee beds, doing 8000 loads of laundry each week and never exaggerating about it–every bit of that work matters!
- No one can do it better than you!—If there’s one thing I’ve been reminded of since being in the hospital, it’s that no one can take care of my child better than me. I watch her nurses—some great and some not so great—they are getting paid to take care of my child…and most of the time, it shows.
Cream rises to the top, which is certainly why moms don’t get paid for their work! My daughter’s nurses know that I am here and that I will take care of her and get her up when she needs. Some of them are taking advantage of it and leaving me to do things that, for as much as I’m paying to stay here, I absolutely should not have to do!
But we are not doing it for pay. We are doing it out of love. No one else will care for your child the way you do, until he or she is married…and I pray that person will care for my child in a different way, but as much as I do!
My prayer for you, this Mother’s Day, is not that you will get pampered and showered with love and celebrated, (though those things would be great for you too!); but instead, that you will shower your kids with love, pamper yourself with a little “me” time, and recognize the work you do and the importance of parenting!
RElated: Encouragement for Moms
