Life in the Ozarks : Mother’s Day good time to list our job description
Posted on Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Another Mother's Day has come and gone. I'm a mother to three children, a grandmother to a 16-year-old girl and a 5-year-old boy.
I used to dread Mother's Day. I knew Mom would be sitting on her throne (recliner ) waiting for all 12 of her children to call or come by, bring gifts or send cards. Of course, she always had an excuse for the one who failed to contact her. But I never did. It was the same on Christmas. What do you buy someone who has all she needs or wants, and has even begun giving away stuff, preparing for her final days ?
I guess Mom deserved everything she got from us. After all, she did have 12 kids, so she must have worked hard. It was she who went with us when we picked berries. She often packed a picnic lunch for us to eat down by the spring, and waited for us while we waded the cold, spring-fed creek. In the fall, she'd be waiting for us in the old pickup after school. As we walked up the lane, she'd holler," Get in back. We are going out into the woods to pick up walnuts. "She milked cows, ironed, taught us girls to do laundry, sew and cook. She died in her 80 s, leaving about 50 grandchildren and that many great-grandchildren. She even had a couple of great-great-grandchildren.
It's said a woman's work is never done. If you asked 500 mothers to describe their tasks, you'd probably get 500 different job descriptions.
A mother is a nurse. Have you ever sat up with a sick child all night ? A mom also has the job of doctor / diagnostician / psychologist. We often have to diagnose our child, treat their symptoms and comfort them through their illness.
A mother out of necessity becomes a chef - I've made my share of peanut butter sandwiches and opened tons of cans of tomato soup. But there are times they want more nourishing food. Then you make a pizza from a box or stir up instant mashed potatoes. I could add to that list, gardener, house cleaner and numerous other tasks.
A mother has to be a teacher - about all my mother taught me was a work ethic. I don't think we teach that so much any more. Today by the time your child starts school, he / she is expected to know the alphabet and how to tie their shoes at least. Thank God for Velcro. My grandson could sing the alphabet song by the time he was 3, having learned it from one of his singing toys. Have you noticed most toys, from infant on, are "teaching toys ? "Last year, my son and his wife bought their son a Junior Monopoly set. They said it taught him to add and subtract as he counted out money to buy "buildings"and "utilities. "He was 4 by that time. They bought him a real computer, and he is better at surfing around it than me. (My granddaughter has a TV, computer and a car. )
A mother usually becomes the designated driver, so that adds on another job description - taxi driver. Sometimes, I didn't even have a car, so someone else had to pick up my middle son for kindergarten. I walked my oldest son to his first-grade class at Westside. It was about a mile from our house. The rest of the year he walked by himself, or with other kids. When we moved less than a mile from Westside, my kids rode their bikes to school. Later, when we moved to the country, they rode the school bus. But I later did my share of taxiing them around, especially by the time my third child became a teen. One mother I talked to, who had four kids that were all involved in different activities, said she spent most of her time in her van, from early morning 'till late at night.
We also find ourselves being the family historian. Not just answering the question," Mommy, where did I come from ? "but introducing them to family members. Since I had 11 siblings, that wasn't easy. We spent time looking at photo albums, visited cemeteries and attended lots of family get-togethers. Keeping up with all their cousins paid off, as today they enjoy e-mailing them. Extended family has always been special to my family. And they always have something to teach, too.
Marie Putman is a longtime freelance columnist for The Rogers Hometown News.
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