Being a Mom is no joke - but it kind of is, right?

It's Mother's Day, and therefore, I was inspired/guilted (by myself) into blogging.  It's been a while kids.  How are you?  Life over here in Mama-ville is to be as expected: crazy.  Cora is like a mini-teenager.  She screams at me.  She tries to smack me.  She'll occasionally grab me.  Well, maybe not a mini-teenager, but what then?  Oh I know, worse.  Much worse. She's a toddler.  Just hearing the word toddler can make me cringe.  When I hear toddler, I hear tantrums.  I hear independence ("No!" "Mine!").  I see dead weight.  Yes, holding a child who was just walking by one hand and suddenly turns into a sack of potatoes as you try not to drag them in front of on-lookers while you walk through the mall or a parking lot.  Yes, you know you can see it now.  You're thinking - "Am I going to break her wrist?  Is her arm going to pull out of her socket?  These people must think I have no control over my child.  ....Can I get away with dragging her across the pavement?"..... and so on.

Yes, being  a Mom is no joke.  But, it kind of is, right?  I mean where else are you expected to keep your cool around a screaming 3 foot midget?  (Well, and not get paid for doing it by MTV)  Where else do you have to turn your head to hide your laughter as your child scrunches their eyebrows to give you the evil eye because they don't want you disciplining them.  Where else do you pick boogers on a consistent basis and actually enjoy it?  C'mon, you know you do.  There's nothing like picking your kid's nose.  Or am I alone on this...?  Where else do you wipe someone's bum (again, without pay) and then examine their poop. 

Yes, being a Mom is a dirty job.  But, it's also kinda awesome.  Because with boogers also comes boo-boos.  Boo-boos are no fun, but kissing boo-boos and making them better is.  There's no feeling like when Cora comes running to me saying "Mama, mama!" with her fake cry (yes folks, she has a fake cry when she's not really hurt) and I can gush over her saying "Oh no.. my poor baby!" and squeeze and hug her for about 7 seconds (because that's about as long as she'll stay still for).  It's an even greater feeling  when she says to me "Mama hug!"  Although the best may have been when she said to me today "Mama, cuddle!"  Like you even had to ask.

Yes, being a Mom is a dirty job.  It's a tough job.  Who're we kidding - it's a freaking hard job.  It's deep breaths, exhaustion, praying (dear-god-help-me-before-I-lose-my-mind).  It's booger-picking, poop-wiping, and boo-boo kissing.  It's puking, fevers, teething and tylenol.  It's waking up in the night, diaper changing, story telling, sing-songing and cuddling.  It's patience upon patience and more patience.  It's hair-pulling, screaming, laughing, crying crazyness.  It's the hardest job in the world and we do it voluntarily.  Because, if we weren't Moms we don't know what else we'd do.  Sure, we still dress up in office clothes and commute and listen to talk radio and type emails to colleagues.  But, now we rush home at the end of the work day - not to meet a friend for drinks, or to catch a tv show (well, only if it's a good tv night).  We rush home because we get to snuggle and cuddle and kiss our babies.  We're exhausted around them, but we miss them when we're away.  We're incomplete without them and it's challenging to remember life before this little life existed.  Did I really used to blow dry my hair every day?  Was there ever a time when I wasn't washing sippy cups?  Was I ever really able to just sleep in?  Or, better yet, lay in bed all day and be lazy?  That life no longer exists.  And, although I miss my well-styled dry hair.  I wouldn't give this job up for anything in the world.

Happy Mother's Day, Mamas.  You deserve all the smiles, laughter and joy from your wonderful little angels.  And just remember, although they may be writhing around on the floor screaming now, one day they'll be too big to do that, and you'll long for when they were small enough to scoop up.  Yes, one day they'll be too big to lay on the floor and scream in full tantrum.  And instead, they'll be standing up screaming and slamming doors.  Just you wait, Mom.  It's gonna be awesome.