From Business Suits To Barely Suitable

My husband gave me a most fabulous Mother’s Day surprise.  On the surface some might wonder what the big deal is about a man taking the day off to stay home with his two boys so his wife can go do whatever she wants.   I mean she isn’t cooped up in an office all day so she is already somewhat free to do a lot of things, right?  During my free day I enjoyed running some errands alone and eating lunch and shopping with a girlfriend.  I never once hefted my 25 pound ten month old in and out of the car or had to stop the shopping cart to remind my son to use his inside voice, make good choices, etc.  Last night I began to wonder about the life stage we are in where something as simple as that act of love by my husband could mean so much to me.  

There was a time in my life when I wore business attire and heels on a regular basis.  I ate lunch with people in my general age range and we talked about things working adults (without children) talk about. We worked property values and filed tax returns for industrial corporations.  At least I think we did.  Some days my corporate life seems so long ago I wonder if it ever happened. 

I traded out the suits and nice clothes for a young mother’s wardrobe that is more suitable for the everyday battle scars.  After bedtime my child-friendly clothing bares witness to my day: cracker crusted drool, some dried snot (my teething baby grabbed my leg, wiped his nose and crawled off), spit-up, glue from my 3 year old’s craft kit, play-doh and only God knows what else.  I traded the adults-only lunches at Grand Lux and Mi Cocina for lunches at home or Chickfila with my child’s friends and their mothers.  These “lunches out” are not times of leisure but events that require preparation and an even faster inhalation of your own lunch as you scurry between feeding the baby, cleaning up spilled drinks, etc.  Adult conversation is splattered between each mother’s frequent child-related intermissions.  I believe this is why women are typically better at multi-tasking than men.  Multi-tasking is a skill required for survival as a mother. 

Sometimes this is how I feel by the time Paul gets home in the evening:

I admit there are times I catch myself singing along to one of Gabriel’s CDs before I realize he isn’t even in the car.  And yes, while I am now well read on topics like how and when to introduce solid foods and books like Baby Wise, my knowledge of property tax and tax codes is a little rusty.  I am no longer responsible for multi-million dollar property values.  Instead, I am responsible with teaching kindness and love to two small boys and I am thankful for the opportunity and privilege to be at home with them.  I think that is why my Mother’s Day surprise was applauded by many and so appreciated by me.  The little things are the big things.

"Enjoy the little things in life, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things."