Photo Credit: Jane Goodrich Photography
Mothers can best be compared to a clock because we are always running 24/7. Actually, I think it would be more accurate to say we are the clock. We wake the house, put it to bed and carefully time everything in between.
But what if the clock just stopped running? What if moms just ran out of batteries? Who would recharge us and would anyone even notice? Once they ran out of clean dishes would they just switch to paper plates and to Crocs when there were no more socks?
My friends Stacy and I chat and text each other throughout our day. We complain, laugh, vent, scream, cry and swap stories. We are in essence the same person just “insert husband and children here”. We usually want the same thing: to be appreciated for what we do everyday but mostly just to be thanked for our “time”.
If I could share some of our conversations it would have the makings of a new reality show: Mothers Gone Mad… But you would also see what we do all day is not for us but for everyone else in our house. No one knows the importance of running things in a timely matter more than mothers. If we wake up just five minutes late well then the whole household’s daily timeline is thrown off schedule.
When I do actually leave the house alone just for hour I get the “emergency” calls: Where are the toe nail clippers? How do you boil water? Why won’t the heat turn on? WHERE ARE YOU? When are you coming home? All that happens before I reach the first stop sign.
So what if we actually just stopped and disappeared just for a day. Would the clock keep ticking as usual or would time stand still? (Would we be missed or would they just miss clean socks and underwear.)
It can be frustrating at times and yes all moms complain. But the truth is and I think Stacy would agree (when she is not scrubbing toilets) that just as our households can not run without us we would not function without them.
We may occasionally operate on low batteries but in the end we love what we do even when we don’t. And just like clocks sometimes we need to find a way to spring forward on days that all we want to do is fall back…
But what if the clock just stopped running? What if moms just ran out of batteries? Who would recharge us and would anyone even notice? Once they ran out of clean dishes would they just switch to paper plates and to Crocs when there were no more socks?
My friends Stacy and I chat and text each other throughout our day. We complain, laugh, vent, scream, cry and swap stories. We are in essence the same person just “insert husband and children here”. We usually want the same thing: to be appreciated for what we do everyday but mostly just to be thanked for our “time”.
If I could share some of our conversations it would have the makings of a new reality show: Mothers Gone Mad… But you would also see what we do all day is not for us but for everyone else in our house. No one knows the importance of running things in a timely matter more than mothers. If we wake up just five minutes late well then the whole household’s daily timeline is thrown off schedule.
When I do actually leave the house alone just for hour I get the “emergency” calls: Where are the toe nail clippers? How do you boil water? Why won’t the heat turn on? WHERE ARE YOU? When are you coming home? All that happens before I reach the first stop sign.
So what if we actually just stopped and disappeared just for a day. Would the clock keep ticking as usual or would time stand still? (Would we be missed or would they just miss clean socks and underwear.)
It can be frustrating at times and yes all moms complain. But the truth is and I think Stacy would agree (when she is not scrubbing toilets) that just as our households can not run without us we would not function without them.
We may occasionally operate on low batteries but in the end we love what we do even when we don’t. And just like clocks sometimes we need to find a way to spring forward on days that all we want to do is fall back…
Marcie Gandell is a full time Westchester NY Mom to three boys and a part-time web designer. She is also a cook, housekeeper, chauffeur, handyman, expert negotiator and an excellent juggler!
Read more from her at her blog, Random Stupid Thoughts, a Mom's View of the World
Read more from her at her blog, Random Stupid Thoughts, a Mom's View of the World
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