Can I be real with you all for a second (aka: post)?

Sometimes motherhood is stinkin’ hard! Some days, you wake up and you think, “Yeah, maybe I’d rather write a research paper  than ‘ride a dragon’ with Rapunzel one more time.” or “Why can’t kids just be kennel trained?”  Some days you are so out of ideas that all you do is watch Daniel Tiger and Olivia on Amazon all day. Some days you wish that you were simply somewhere else doing something different. It’s true. Ask any mom who has had kids for more than 6 months.

And so, you admit that, and the so-called “feminists” of the world chime in immediately saying “See!!!! Women who confine themselves to the drudgery of motherhood are miserable! If only they would put those little gremlins in daycare where they belong, those women could make something great out of their lives!”  And then the images they paint in your mind are those of a beautifully dressed, all powerful, fabulously wealthy CEO. That could all be mine, they tell me, if only I would give up my kids and do something really meaningful, like work.

But what they don’t paint in your mind is just how many days you wake up on a day where you are in the midst of your awesome degree or job and think “Yeah, I’d basically rather do anything that wake up and submit that product analysis.” or “Is there no end to the amount of work they want me to do here?” They also never paint in your mind the reality that NOT every woman who leaves her kids in daycare goes to a glamorous, prestigious job. Most of them are just normal people–normal people who sometimes have bad days, and wish they could do something else. I know, because once upon a time I didn’t have any kids. I was living the dream! I was in school, hanging out with friends, sleeping in on the weekends! It was great! And there were still a lot of days where I woke up NOT wanting to do any of it.

Whether you have kids or not, whether you are at home with them or not, sometimes we all have days where we want to be doing something different. But that doesn’t mean that we aren’t doing something important.  I stay home with my kids, through the good days and the lousy ones, because they mean more to me than even the life of a beautifully dressed, all powerful, fabulously wealthy CEO. Yes, I am aware that theoretically I could have both of those. That’s why there’s daycare, after all. But being able to truly witness my children grow up–so that one day I can look back and remember that when Fay was 3 she LOVED to pretend she was a princess riding a dragon or a camel and that when Carter was 1 he would always crack up whenever Fay was throwing a tantrum–and most especially to truly teach my children about Heavenly Father and His Perfect Son, Jesus Christ so that we can all live together with Them forever, is more important to me than even the ultimate “feminist” dream.

I’m a mom when its hard, because family is what life is for!

Really.