The Hardest Job in the World

As i was scraping melted blue crayon out of the dryer(my very new dryer, purchased in February), I couldn't help but recall everything else i had done that day. Get a manicure, watch a good movie, soak in a hot bathtub-- none of that came to mind. Instead, my brain filled with images of spilled kool-aid, the effects of the baby in the bathroom(think mascara on the bathroom rug), and more spilled kool-aid on a just-mopped floor at dinner. I still had lunches to make for the next day, clothes to dry, fold, and put away (once the crayon was removed), and it was 10:00 already. When i walked across the kitchen floor, dirt stuck to my feet, reminding me of another task yet to be completed. Whew! That Calgon commercial from the '80's popped into my head. "Take me away?" Yes, please!

Everyone knows there are days when life gives you a break: the kids don't fight, supper seems to prepare itself, and everyone goes to bed on the first try. Unfortunately, those days are sometimes few and far between, and the norm is a 2 practice night, right in the middle of supper time, with homework and laundry waiting on you as soon as you pull in the driveway. If we're lucky, there's a "love you, Mom" or a base hit that for a split second makes you forget about the Home Depot bill waiting to be paid and the garage that is a disaster area. Nobody said it would be easy and once you've lived it you've earned the right to say, Motherhood isn't for sissies! I've seen Facebook entries, bumper stickers, and refrigerator magnets that list a mom's duties: nurse, chauffeur, judge, jury, cook, tutor, referee, coach, motivator, role model(?), and the list goes on.

Some days, the toughest part of being a parent involves the self-restraint to not "jerk a knot" in the head of a 7 year old with an attitude. Some nights, the toughest job is to "divide" myself between three little boys who want their mom's attention, all at the EXACT SAME TIME. Stinks, huh? It gets worse: watching your child strike out at home plate, struggling with word problems on the math homework, not being invited to THE birthday party, or being the new kid in a classroom full of old friends.

I ache with every Lego creation that falls to the ground and shatters into pieces, destroying hours of work and imagination. My heart sinks with the essay written in barely legible handwriting that doesn't win the county competition. How could I leave out the sick days and nights, when all a mom can do is hold a sick head in her lap and promise that he'll feel better soon.

But by far, the toughest part of being a mom is being a disciplinarian, doling out punishments for accidents, poor judgment, and sometimes pure laziness. It stinks having to send a child to school without his homework because he forgot to put it in his bookbag, knowing full well he will have to move a puppy and lose some of that much anticipated recess. It stinks making a child miss a fun day because the rule was, "talk back to your mom and you lose your privilege."

No one wants to be the bad guy, especially when being the good guy is so much fun! The "thanks, moms" and the "you're awesome's" make a day so much better than a huff and a puff and a slammed car door. But I want Tucker, Tanner, and Tate to be the students that all teachers dream of, and if that's going to happen, then i must stick to my guns and follow the words of wisdom that are so readily available to me. Sorry Dr. Phil, i don't mean you. I'm referring to the Bible and the verse that sticks in my head every time i have to wear the mean hat: "Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it." So here's to many more years of tough love and maybe a support group for moms who haven't been swept away yet by the Calgon.