Years ago, before I had kids, I saw an Oprah show on how horrible motherhood was. They said it was the big secret that nobody would talk about or admit. Being a mother was really hard and horrible. Most of the women on the show seemed pretty miserable. I’ll always remember the footage of a lady standing by her kitchen sink with children in the background saying something along the lines of “What nobody tells you is that 90 percent of the time this sucks!” To add to the lovefest, all of the women in the audience were pregnant. I can only imagine how excited they were to go home and give birth to their bundles of joy.

 

 

Reality, for me at least, is somewhere in the middle. Do I think being a mom sucks 90 percent of the time? That, of course, depends on the day or week or even the month, but not usually. There are times when I really enjoy it. But it’s definitely not all fun and games, either. It can be really hard.  When Barrett’s in one of his really bad phases, Tim is informed on a regular basis that I’m going back to work so I don’t have to deal with him all day, every day.  But there are times when it really is a great job.  There’s nothing greater than watching Barrett explore something new or seeing Charlotte’s grin first thing in the morning. I love that Barrett will spontaneously say “Thank you Mommy” when I put his lunch in front of him and insist on hugs and kisses when I’m going somewhere without him. Is it the most fun that I’ve ever had? Not even close. But I don’t think anything I did in my career as a lobbyist was as rewarding as the feeling I have after a rare trip to the grocery store when the baby doesn’t cry and I manage to keep a two-year old sitting down in the cart for the majority of the time.