“Being a Mom is the best and most important job I’ve ever or will ever have. In the early years, it can honestly be quite hard, exhausting, and downright overwhelming. But there was always joy, laughter, and so many lasting memories. Now that my girls are grown, one of them a Mom herself and the other preparing to be one, there is nothing better than the pride I feel in seeing who they have become and knowing that I played a part in that.”
Toni Lavigne Conway with her daughters Leslie and Allie
Mother’s Day is fast approaching, and with it the perfect opportunity to celebrate one of the most special people in our lives, our Moms.
Celebrations of mothers and motherhood can be traced back to the ancient Greek and Romans, who held festivals in honour of mother goddesses. Over time, celebration and meaning shifted, evolved and grew until it became the more modern commercialized day in the early 20th century, when it developed into a day of personal commemoration between mothers and their families.
It may be celebrated on different days and in various ways around the world, but all recognize that at least once a year, the person we call Mom deserves her own special day.
Being a Mom is hard work and comes with a job description that would make even the strongest man weak at the knees.
From nurturing her body during pregnancy for 9 exceptionally long months, giving birth (not for the meek!) countless sleepless nights, raising a toddler whose vocabulary consists solely of the words NO, WHY, MOOOOOOMMY!, making endless school lunches and meals, kissing boo boos to make everything feel better, to eventually letting go of her babies when they become adults as they make their own way in the world. And now because of the pandemic, Moms, who often are already disproportionately responsible for managing the household and children, have additional roles to fill like being a teacher, some while maintaining their own jobs outside the home.
Who on earth would apply for a job like this?!
I believed I had a fair idea of what my own Mom did when I was growing up, but there is no question that it took becoming a Mom myself to fully appreciate all that role and all it entails.
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