i AM a MOTHER

I loved this humorous motherhood story that Carol emailed:

"A man came home from work and found his three children outside, still in their pajamas, playing in the mud, with empty food boxes and wrappers strewn all around the front yard. The door of his wife's car was open, as was the front door to the house and there was no sign of the dog. Proceeding into the entry, he found an even bigger mess. A lamp had been knocked over, and the throw rug was wadded against one wall. In the front room the TV was loudly blaring a cartoon channel, and the family room was strewn with toys and various items of clothing. In the kitchen, dishes filled the sink, breakfast food was spilled on the counter, the fridge door was open wide, dog food was spilled on the floor, a broken glass lay under the table, and a small pile of sand was spread by the back door. He quickly headed up the stairs, stepping over toys and more piles of clothes, looking for his wife. He was worried she might be ill, or that something serious had happened. He was met with a small trickle of water as it made its way out the bathroom door. As he peered inside he found wet towels, scummy soap and more toys strewn over the floor. Miles of toilet paper lay in a heap and toothpaste had been smeared over the mirror and walls. As he rushed to the bedroom, he found his wife still curled up in the bed in her pajamas, reading a novel. She looked up at him, smiled, and asked how his day went. He looked at her bewildered and asked, "What happened here today?" She again smiled and answered, "You know every day when you come home from work and you ask me what in the world I do all day?" "Yes," was his incredulous reply. She answered, "Well, today I didn't do it."

Last night I watched on byutv an interview on Latter-day Profiles with Jane Clayson Johnson. (HERE IS A SIMILAR BUT SHORTER VERSION with the same idea) I was impressed with her attitude about motherhood and realized I needed that extra positive boost and attitude in my own life. Our family seems to have the 'WINTER CRAZIES' and I needed a dose of perspective about the importance of mothering. I haven't read Jane's book, but I have loved all the quotes I have seen from it.

"The sanctity of motherhood can be hard to appreciate when you spend endless hours making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, singing along with Elmo, helping create elaborate science projects, or enforcing ­late-­night curfews. Many in the world will shout that motherhood is full of small, mundane tasks. And certainly, if you look only on the surface, this is true. But underneath all of the secondary things mothers ­do--­cook, clean, read, chauffeur, nurse, and so ­on--­is a mother's real occupation and, I believe, the definition of true success. Webster defines occupation as "the principal business of one's life." The principal business of a mother's life is loving and nurturing her children; it is teaching them, by example, how to pass on that love and thereby strengthening the world around them." Jane Clayson Johnson

In one of the interviews with the Johnsons, they were asked 'What do you hope to teach your children?' That made me wonder if the things I do each day with my kids are the things I really want them to learn in life. Do I spend time each day teaching them all the simple things that I want them to know? What do they learn from my example? I always wonder when I die, what things they will remember about me and what I taught them. A few years ago I made this funny sort of page with some tidbits that I hope someday my kids will learn from me.