The Role of Motherhood Defined by Children

The other day I was busy with the house. The girls were playing nicely together upstairs with their Polly pockets. The boys were playing the X Box of course. Becca came down and asked if I would help her put the Cinderella dress on one of the Polly dolls- sometimes it can be really hard!
I struggled, but I did it! She was so happy! She said, "Thanks mom. You did your job!"

She ran away so happy and content. I laughed a little and thought, "I guess that's what I'm here for, to put on Polly pocket clothes."

This incident sparked this post. I asked each of my kids to tell me what they think a mother's job entails. Here are their answers.

Ryan said a mother's job was to teach her kids how to be good people. She should be nice and love her kids no matter what!

Aaron's answers were short. He got embarrassed and didn't want to participate. He managed to to tell me that a mom's job is to feed her kids, clean the house, and make sure they are safe.

Grace had quite the list. A mother's job is to take care of her kids. She should not let them get sick, drive them to school, and keep them warm. A mother cares for her family and yells at them when they don't get along. ( Yes, I'm a yeller, I admit it, I'm not proud of it)

Kate's answers were very cute. I loved them. It broke motherhood into those little simple things that we do. Mom's do dishes. They fold clothes. She also cooks toast and onions. She has the babies. She puts on shoes and then ties them. Her "most important" job is to drive the car, she takes me to the library.

In the end Becca added these tasks to her list. A mom writes stuff and goes to the store.

Not the most profound things for sure, but then you realize that all these little things lead to the biggest job of all, watching them walk away HAPPY and CONTENT... knowing they are loved and safe!