Motherhood Moments

In my opinion, motherhood may be the most demanding and stressful job in the world. Being a mother is a 24/7 occupation or shall I say, preoccupation. It all started (the occupation/preoccupation) when you carried the fetus in your womb for 40 weeks, gaining a gazillion pounds in the process. When the baby was born, you became a SAHM to take care of the infant, making sure he was fed, bathed, sang to, talked to and loved. You nurtured the child. You taught him things about life, God, the birds and the bees, the universe.

You were there when he took his first walk. You were not offended when his first word was dada and not mama. You had endless doctor's appointment and immunizations. You learned to drive sans your arms as you were using your left hand to unscrew the baby bottle while your right hand was groping for the milk canister in the baby's bag which conveniently rolled on the farthest side of the passenger seat. You became adept in procuring costumes for school plays and presentations. You made do without so many things just so you can have your child enrolled in extra-curricular activities- to enhance his well-being and make him well-rounded.

You were expected to be the driving force of the family. You were expected to cook superb meals, plan and give spectacular birthday parties, and be the life of every family activity. You were expected to pat your child's back, hug and reassure him in times of great disappointment when all you wanted to do was curl up and cry too.

You can never ever get sick. In the rare times that you do get sick, you feel sicker thinking how your child was coping up. You lament on how you never go out with your girlfriends anymore but deep down, you don't really want to.

You can't wait for your child to grow up. Please grow up so I can have more time for myself and my neglected career. The child grows older and you do get more time for yourself as he has learned to do things for himself. However, the anxiety never leaves as new sets of problems present itself in an almost regular consistency- the angst of a teenager; the bickering among siblings; the i-hate-you-mom-i-wish-you'd-die phase; love hurts; career choice; rearing his own family and countless more. Now I know.

Motherhood never ends. You can't stop being a mother even if you want to. To all the great mothers out there, I salute you!

photo: Norman Koren