The Toughest Job You'll Ever Love

Most of you will remember the title of this article as one the Peace Corp used many years ago. I myself thought that the Peace Corp would be something enjoyable to do. Maybe it was a desire to help people, which has been what I’ve done, much of my professional life. So, maybe I wasn’t too far off.

However, I believe there is another job that could be one of the toughest jobs that you’ll ever love. That is the job of being a mother. No matter how many children she has, her love continues to multiply. Her willingness to go the extra step never runs out. Her desire to nurture never loses its passion. Her tears never dry up.

I watch mothers more now that I am married and have my own child. I observe one of the best mothers each and every day. As I grew up, I was immature and oblivious to the real sacrifice that comes with being a parent. Now that I am a parent, and my wife is a mother, I understand much of what goes on in being a mother, based on observing my wife.

Girls start out caring and nurturing. They care for their dolls just like they are their own. They will imitate their own mothers, but at the same time, they have an instinct of creating a safe haven for these pretend children. My niece, when Oliver was born, though she was only 5 ½ at the time, was so gentle and nurturing with him. She already started to show her instincts in caring for a child.

As a girl grows, she will enjoy playing house and being the “Mommy”. Sometimes this may be humorously scary, as it depends on what moments she may imitate what a “mommy” does as she plays house. However, she already understands that some of the roles a mother takes on is caring for the house, cooking, cleaning, and taking care of the children.

Girls are the natural choice for babysitting. Why…because they naturally nurture. Boys will protect, but we do not have the instincts like a girl has. I remember when I babysat some children, four of them from ages three to five. We ordered pizza, when it arrived I put a piece on each of their plates, and I started to eat. About the time I took the first bite, they were all staring at me (I was 14 at the time). I quickly realized that they needed me to cut their pizza up for them into more manageable sizes. Not my instinct, but a girl probably would have done it immediately.

When the woman becomes a mom, she becomes even more sacrificial. It is a “24/7 365” sacrifice. She will do anything for her husband, but if her husband does not love her back, that may fade away. However, for her children, it will probably never fade. She will get up in the middle of the night to make sure that her child is fed or changed, stay up until they fall back asleep, then get up when needed, despite the lack of sleep she’s had.

Mothers will continue to sacrifice until they no longer have a heartbeat. There is no retirement from being a mother. It doesn’t matter if you go to bed at night or your children move away from home, nothing says retirement to a mother. Dads can compartmentalize some of the concerns for a child, but a mother simply cannot. Though some dads may be more in tune with their children than others, moms are continually involved and intuitive with the concerns of their children. So much love…so much sacrifice!

Thanks Moms for all you do! Without you, we’d be in trouble! Thanks for taking on the toughest job you’ll ever love!!! Happy Mother’s Day!