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Wheres My Mother of The Year Award?
With orange juice spilled over the kitchen table, Playdough in the cracks of the hardwood floor and a pacifier floating in the toilet, I wanted to scream phrases like, "How much more of this can I take?" and "I am not a maid!" and most of all, as the characters in Peanuts do, the long and profound, "AAUGH!" As I wiped the kitchen table, dug out the Playdough and retrieved the pacifier, I muttered, "Surely I deserve an award for mother of the year." When I decided to become a mother, I envisioned days of cuddling my newborn and bathing her as serene music filled the air. As she'd grow older, I envisioned playing Ring Around The Rosies with her and a group of her neighborhood friends. I'd be a loving mother, anxious to nurture and praise my child. I'd never raise my voice. The truth was, as soon as I become pregnant with my firstborn, I realized this was not how I had pictured it at all. I gained an enormous amount of weight, had heartburn and felt the most excruciating pain as I prepared to push my daughter from my body out into the world. Continually, with each passing day, I am reminded that motherhood, especially when it involves preschoolers, is not a glamorous profession. How could it be when it starts with a growing belly, timing contractions and later waking up to cries at two a.m? (A mother's cries as well as the baby's.) "It is the daily routine things that can drive me crazy," a mother I recently talked with expressed. "I get tired of having to make sure my four year old has brushed his teeth, make sure that there are clean clothes that I have laundered for him to wear and I am especially tired of making sure I stock the pantry with nutritious items to pack in his lunch for preschool." Does anyone care about what we mothers have to go through? Do our seemingly menial tasks mean anything to anybody? Our husbands may come home with a promotion or an award and a paycheck. We don't get any of these to show that what we do is noteworthy and valuable. I used to expect the Ed McMahon of awards to mothers to come to my door and present me with a plaque that read: "For All Your Remarkable Hard Work." Others in the neighborhood would crowd around my front lawn, beaming at me and applauding my daily, grueling commitment to motherhood. There was a time in my life when I felt I really needed to be recognized and presented with a motherhood award. It was immediately after my adorable four-year-old son, Daniel, died following cancer treatments. I wished I could have sunk into a hole in the sticky floor and not had any responsibilities. Not only was my grief consuming and agonizing, but I had to care for my surviving children, six-year-old Rachel and fifteen-month old Benjamin. On top of that, I was six months pregnant. If ever I felt I needed support, help, an award, it was then. Losing a child, your own flesh and blood, has to be the most difficult aspect of motherhood. Three months later, adding to the demands of parenting two kids and the suffering over the loss of one, arrived a new-born Elizabeth. Where was that award? Could there be a more appropriate candidate for it? As time went on and no one called to invite me to tell my story on Oprah or on James Dobson and there was no excited crowd with cameras knocking at my door with the engraved plaque, I began to reconsider this award idea. Would an award given by those who heard my story really be sufficient? Even my closest friends did not know the agony of my situation and if they were to list the detailed reasons as to why I should get this motherhood award, they would come up short. They would leave out the darkest parts I had kept secret, therefore unable to know what was really going on with me. Those of us who do not have ill children or disabled children to care for would not know what kind of inclusive award to give to the mothers of these children. We don't see the day-to-day struggles that consist of severe behavioral troubles, extensive trips to the doctors', the constant administration of medicines and the fear the child's future may not be bright. We can't know all that goes on when we don't live with these children. Only God knows our individual pain. The only true award of genuine value could be from Him as He knows all we have been through. Our self-worth lies in knowing who we are in Christ. We are loved and are precious to Him. We have been given a gift, the valuable role of mother, with all its triumphs and trials. We are servants and serving Him through doing the daily grunge-work for our kids. Jesus said that whoever would be greatest in God's kingdom must learn to be servant of all. Within the realm of mere humans, is there any greater example of servanthood than motherhood? While we may at times, be hopeful the award is coming soon, the reality is no earthly award presented by a human could measure up to what we are really worth. If we truly believe God sees all and knows all, then we can rest assured the award in Heaven will be the best and worth the wait. "Well done, my good and faithful servant," will be glorious music to our ears. And we won't even have to be holding a mop to receive it! But meanwhile, as you scrub the blue marker off the bedroom wall, know your humbling job as a serving mother is pleasing unto the Lord. Alice J. Wisler's children are older from when she first wrote this essay, but her heart will always hold empathy for the mother of young children. Alice speaks on writing through parental loss, and is the author of two cookbooks of memory, "Down the Cereal Aisle" and "Slices of Sunlight." Visit her website at Daniel's House Publications: http://www.geocities.com/griefhope/index.html
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Like all other expectant parents you will have spent the last nine months preparing for this day. You will have a baby room full of everything a newborn could possibly want. You will have read book after book on a wide magnitude of baby topics from what to name your baby to when you can expect those first words. You will have walked and paced the length of baby's room, imagining your little bundle sleeping peacefully in her crib. Now the moment has arrived. In the crib lies your sleeping baby and the most exciting adventure of life is about to begin. Baby Poems for Saying Whats On Your Heart Baby poems and baby shower poems can express any sentiment. Whether sweet, funny, or loving, poems are an ideal way to say what's on your heart. And if you need some help with what to say, online you can find everything you are looking for having to do with poems and baby shower poems. 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Women in our culture are sometimes advised to avoid spicy or "gassy" foods when nursing. Or they are told that chocolate, citrus, carbonated beverages or dairy causes problems in all nursing babies. Baby's First Shoes: How to Choose the Right Ones Any parent of an active toddler has asked this question: "When should my child start wearing shoes?" How to Choose a Baby Gate Once your baby is out of their crib and playpen, you are going to need some way of ensuring their safety. That's why learning how to choose a baby gate can be one of the most important things you'll do while baby-proofing the house. Potty Training Guide Toilet training (herein referred to as "potty training") is an exciting time for parents and children, as the child takes the next step to becoming a "big" girl or boy. While parents usually start this adventure filled with the anticipation of being able to cross "diapers" off the shopping list, their toddlers can make them wonder if this will ever happen. Baby Jaundice Around 20% of newborn babies suffer from jaundice. The condition is not normally serious and usually clears up after a week or so.What Are The Symptoms?Baby's skin will develop a yellowish tinge and she will look as though she has a suntan. Black babies will have a yellow tinge to the whites of their eyes.What Causes Baby JaundiceBabies are born with a high level of the chemical bilirubin in the blood and it may take a week or so for the liver to break this down. Baby will suffer no pain or discomfort as a result of having this condition.How Is It Diagnosed?The first sign of jaundice is the change in skin tone. A blood sample will then be taken (usually a small sample from baby's heel) and the levels of bilirubin levels are checked.What Is The Treatment?Exposure to sunlight will help break down the chemical. If you are still in hospital, baby will be placed under bright fluorescent lights for set periods; a few days of this treatment is usually sufficient and the yellowish tinge will fade. If you are at home, place baby in as much daylight as possible (without clothing) - but be careful not to expose baby to direct sunlight as she could suffer from sunburn. Breastfeeding will also help (but you were going to breastfeed anyway, right?), and feed on demand so that the chemical clears the system more quickly.What If The Symptoms Persist?If the symptoms persist after two weeks, a rare occurence, it can be a sign of other complications and you should consult your doctor. Teach Your Baby To Read English If your child's first language is not English, he or she can still become an excellent English reader and writer. Your baby is on the way to successful English reading if she is beginning to learn many words and is interested in learning to read in her first language. You can help by supporting her in her first language as she learns English. Talk with her, read with her, encourage her to draw and write. How To Look For Baby Books Look for Books! The books that you pick to read with your child is very important. If you aren't sure of what books are right for your child, ask a librarian to help you choose titles. Prepare Your Child For Potty Training When your child shows a majority of the signs of potty training readiness, you can start introducing him to the idea of using the potty. Baby Furniture Essentials for Your New Baby Baby furniture can be made up of many different pieces and often makes an ideal baby shower gift. With an endless variety of choices to choose from such as cribs and dressers or toy boxes and rocking chairs you can be sure to find that timeless shower gift. Are You Spending Too Much Money on Baby Gear? Did you waste $57 today? I hope not. Unfortunately, so many new parents pay much more than they have to for baby products, because they don't know the secrets the insiders know. Your Little Gourmet: Babys Fifth Month Guide Baby smiled her real smiles at you and you were so charmed, you decided nothing could be better. But baby has more in store for you in her fifth month. Endless entertainment coupled with increasing interest in her surroundings makes your five month-old baby an ideal playmate. Baby Development - But What Role do Parents Play? It is truly amazing the development that a baby experiences in the first year of life. Every week seems to bring another milestone for parents as well as baby! The primary way a baby learns is through play and baby games, it is how they start to make sense of their world. By providing a nurturing and safe environment for our babies we help to promote this learning that aids their early development.
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