A Day in the Life of Mom

As a full time mom and housewife my role is often the caretaker, the cleaner upper, the chef, and the patient listener. I am the one who makes sure all the fine details are taken care of...everyone is fed, happy, and loved. I think its normal for most moms to look at the lives they now live and compare them to the carefree and dare I say...crazy... child free days. I start out my days at 6:45am still groggy from the numerous night feeds and crying episodes of last night. I get ready for a day of ....well.... plan as we go along activities. It may seem like a vacation to be home and away from work, but filling 10 hours (minus 2 hours of nap time) with meaningful activity for both baby and mommy can be a challenging thing. There are only so many trips to the mall that the baby (and daddy's wallet) can handle.
Anyways.. after breakfast and a farewell to daddy, we commence our morning walk. Lauren's face still dirty from breakfast becasue of her refusal to wash it off and mommy still in her pajamas. And yes my Little Kangaroo is carried in my arms as always. Upon our return home we change and head off to the days adventures to take up the few hours before her 2pm nap. This seemingly enjoyable outing is actually a carefully planned series of trips that combine important errands and fun trips in progressive order from distance to importance so as to get all the pertinent things done before a crying fest in the car begins. I guess you can compare it to Tetris...you have to fit everything in carefully but as time goes by the pieces fall faster and soon enough its time to call GAME OVER.
So when its time we go home...her sleepy in the car and myself EXHAUSTED from the lack of sleep from last night, the fatigue of schleping her around in her sling, the mental frustration of not getting enough done, and the worry of how I'm going to get her to nap for long enough for me to clean up the house a bit, get dinner done, start the laundry, and maybe read that book for book club.
Yes..motherhood is a full time job and sometimes we don't get enough recognition. But in reality recognition about how hard it is to be a mom is not what I want. That smile I get after she wakes up from a nap...the one that says "wow Mom I missed you while I was sleeping" is what makes every day more than just the everyday grind.