Mommy Power!!

As a young woman I was drawn to teaching as a career because I liked the notion of positively influencing the way others think and behave.  I adored the fact that I could create a little world for my students when they came into my classroom in the morning; I could set the tone and affect the social climate.  Other teachers often commented that my classroom was always "so peaceful and calm."  ( I can promise you that it wasn't always, but that was my goal.)

It has taken me a long time to realize that my current position (Carson Family Mama) has all of the same perks and powers as my previous job as a teacher.  Of course a mother has an even more powerful influence on her children than a teacher does.  Few adults are in therapy because of messed-up stuff their 3rd grade teacher did. 

When my two eldest girls were younger, I often felt as though nothing I did mattered.  Did anyone in the world really care if I cleaned up all of the peas that had just been thrown on the floor?  Why should I bother picking up those blocks when they would be scattered all over the house again in less than an hour.  A woman's work is never done because there is always some little person right behind her un-doing everything she does.  Lovingly cooked meals will be eaten (or played with and dropped on the cat's head), clean dishes and laundry will be befouled and left in most unusual places, and that tidy toy cupboard-- please! it doesn't stand a chance!

But now that Emma and Sophie are a bit older, I am starting to see the fruits of my labor, and I am re-discovering my power.  I am the adult here (keep repeating that), and I have the opportunity to set the tone in my house.  We strive to be a house filled with more laughter than tears.  I am also trying to help us become more organized and efficient.  It is my goal to be the mama who always offers this family a soft place to fall at the end of a rotten day or the mama who shakes her pom poms furiously when big and small successes are achieved.  I am not always this mama.  Sometimes I am tired.  Sometimes, believe it or not, I am grouchy, but remembering what power I possess gives me great inspiration.