Mommy what do you want to be when you grow up?
Besides wondering if I should be excited or offended that my daughter thinks I haven’t grown up yet, I was grateful for the question.
Last week may not have been my best week of parenting.
Anniversaries and birthdays left me in a cloud of bittersweetness and my mind did as close to nothing as I could manage.
I tried really hard to have fun and enjoy the days but I lost my patience, raised my voice enough to warrant a “Mommy you could be in the Lion King” and barely found time for a shower or a cup of coffee that was not cold.
Counting the minutes until the week was over, I looked forward to the weekend and a new week ahead where my brainwaves would hopefully return.
Instead, Sunday night left me nervously searching for a way to regain my stamina for another day on the job without personal, sick or vacation days.
As my McKenna waited for my answer to her question, my mind continued its conversation with itself. Drifting to little girl dreams of being a professional ballerina and then teenage dreams of law school, before I realized that this is it.
Despite the long hours, lack of pay and an excessive amount of wiping behinds, this is my dream job.
When I was a young single mom, I envied the women whose lives I thought so perfect, who could volunteer at school, who had a husband to talk to at the end of the day and a home to decorate for the holidays.
I always wanted a house full of kids, noisy family meals and to catch the first smile as the school day ends.
And now this is my life.
So this week, and the next, and the one after that, as I referee whine-a-thons and “that’s-mine” tug of wars, I will try to remember how I answered my daughter’s question:
If I could have any job in the world, this is the one I would want… to be your mom.
You can only look good in a tutu for so long anyway.
What was your dream job growing up?
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Yes! This is definitely my dream job as well 🙂
I wanted to be the next Madonna, cone bra and all. But my Catholic mother put the “kabash” on that pretty quick! LOL!
Yep, my dream job too. Best benefits. 😉
You did??? When I was in grade school my friends and I put on a concert to “Like a Virgin” for our Catholic school parents. It probably went over as well as your dream job with your mom.
Mom, teacher and lawyer (in that order). Beautiful post! So glad that you got through last week. Sending hope and hugs. xo
Before I had kids, I wanted to be a teacher. After having them, I decided that being around other people’s children all day wasn’t going to work for me LOL
Right there with you, I am MUCH better with my own children than I am with other people’s.
You are incredible at your job , you know. I look at you as an example, an inspiration, a motivation to be better.
XOXO
You do? That is such an amazing compliment Kir. You just made my day.
Writing. Mothering. Advocate. You have so many jobs. You do them all beautifully.
My dream job was to be a writer. I definitely knew that I wanted to be a mom too!
I always loved writing but I never thought of it as a career, I guess no one ever mentioned it could be. It wasn’t until I got older that I really discovered how much I love it.
This is lovely.
I quit teaching (my original dream job) to be with the kids this spring (my revised dream job). I have moments each week where my heart doubles in size out of happiness that I got my wish. Remembering that helps the many moments each week where I feel like a worn out rag.
I love this. And it’s a great reminder to live in the moment!
Such a sweet story! Actually, I have to say that I’m the luckiest man on the planet: when I was a child, I always wanted to be an architect and an inventor just like my dad and granddad, and today, I can work in my own studio as a designer/architect and just started to design my own 3d printer as well… I wish everybody knew that great feeling when your dreams come true… I have to thank for my family and parents for the inspiration and support, I have no idea if I could have managed it without their love and trust…
I love it. Being a Mom is my dream job too. Though like any job, I have days where quitting sounds like a good idea. When I was a kid, I wanted to be an astronomer.
I think we all need the reminder to take joy everyday in being a mom. My dream “job” is to stay home with my kiddo’s so I can enjoy more time with them.
I wanted to be an author or a photographer, believe it or not. And a mom. So I got three out of three, although I feel kinda… low down on the totem pole in all three. I think the problem is half in my head, and there’s also a part of me itching to grow faster. However I’m juggling all three, and not always well.
I wanted to be a mom for so long! Now that I am it’s a challenge but it’s perfectly what I want in every way.
What a beautiful post! It is hard to remember the joy of being a mom amongst the chaos. Thank you for the reminder!