Hi Dr Laura,
As we were sitting around the dinner table the other night, my 12-year old turned to me and asked,
"Mom, what did you want to be when you grew up?"
Without hesitation I said, "I always wanted to be a mom with two boys."
He laughed and said, "No mom, what did you want to be?"
My 14-year old son chimed in asking if I wanted to be a doctor or a lawyer. He remembered I had a degree in Economics and asked if I wanted to be an Economist.
Again, I said, "No, I wanted to be a mom with two boys."
It really was my dream to have a wonderful husband who would provide for us while I stayed at home with my two boys. I didn't want girls because I knew I would never able to fix their hair properly. I wanted two, crazy, testosterone-driven boys. God gave me all of this, and yet my children were in disbelief as to what I wanted to be when I grew up.
My 12-year old asked again, "Mom, really, what did you want to be?"
I said, "Being a mom is the best job in the world. Why would anyone want to be anything else? I love being a mom. You guys make my life happy and I love going to work."
There was quite a bit of eye-rolling as I said this. They couldn't believe anyone would just want to be a mom. I think they expected me to have "bigger" ambitions. They didn't understand that being a mom was most important job any woman would ever experience. They didn't get being at all their school functions and sport activities was so much fun for me. They didn't comprehend that helping them with homework and making sure they were loved and acknowledged was the most demanding job in the world. They just thought a MOM was not enough.
As we finished dinner, my youngest was going to try and pin me down one more time. "Mom, what kind of job did you want where you would get a paycheck every week?"
I told him payments can come in different forms and I didn't need to be paid in cash to have a job. There are other ways for people to get paid like in compliments or self satisfaction.
Looking confused and defeated, he gave me a kiss and hug and said, "Well, I am glad you are my mom."
As he walked away, I smiled to myself thinking I had done a great job at the office today. And what about the paycheck, you ask? Can one really put a price tag on a kiss, hug and compliment from a 12-year old boy that calls you MOM? Or should we just say priceless?
R.
