Great Essays on Motherhood

There are lots of great essays that circulate the Internet and drive home the demanding nature of motherhood. They’re good for a laugh and more importantly, a wake-up call.

"Do you work, or are you just a mom?"
"Did you quit your job after your baby was born?"

    I hope that you’ll find valuable resources here, will print pages that will become rumpled and frayed, stained with baby formula or breast milk or peanut butter and jelly as you use it to get through daily struggles, big and small. I hope that it is the best friend you need on a rainy day when you can't seem to get it all together with your kids. And I hope that you will hold your head up with pride the next time someone asks you if you're "just a mom," and tell them that you are a very successful career mom.

Why Motherhood is a Business

    Motherhood is indeed a legitimate business. It has all of the makings of a real job – expectations, periodic reviews of performance (self-inflicted and from friends and family), success and failure, management and supervision, and on and on. Like a businessperson, mothers are expected to be dedicated, high achievers day and night.

    Motherhood is tough. It’s misunderstood and under-appreciated. Once you accept that it is indeed a business, you will not only see it increase in value and legitimacy, but you will be ready to make it the most successful operation you have ever managed in your life!

    It’s amazing that you need a license to drive a car or to operate heavy machinery. You need a degree to teach in public schools. You need advanced training to be a doctor or lawyer. But to raise a child, to be responsible for another human being, you simply need one “oops.” People joke that they send you home from the hospital with a newborn without an owner’s manual or instruction booklet. Well, finally, here it is!

Take the test: could you be a mom?

    Ok, it’s not really a “test,” but most moms can relate to this.  Surviving motherhood is quite a feat.

    I’ve often dreamed of an obstacle course that would educate people on the physical rigors of parenthood. Here’s how it goes…First, prepare your body with a lack of sleep or proper nutrition. Don’t resist fast food or eating in your car. In fact, dump a bag of trash in your car. Set your alarm clock for different times in the middle of the night for a week, and play a recording of a crying baby or a child’s poignant description of a nightmare while you cradle and rock a doll to pacify it. Then, hug a heavy pile of wet, urine-soaked laundry so you can pretend you’re carrying your child who just wet the bed. The day of the race is here. Put a toddler on one hip, a baby on the other. Strap a 20-pound diaper bag to your back, and run! Run fast! Pretend you’re dodging cars in a parking lot. Then, go to your kitchen and prepare dinner. Make sure the phone rings at least four times; the doorbell rings twice; and two irate toddlers are running through your legs while they fight for a toy.

How did you do?

Homemaking 101 – Does it require a degree?

NBC’s Today Show had a great feature (click here to view) about a Texas college offering Homemaking 101 as a major. We can debate the pro’s and con’s of a required degree to do this job (http://momtinilounge.com/?p=11) but the story confirmed our premise – Motherhood is indeed a job! They estimated a mother’s workweek as 92+ hours with an estimated corresponding salary of $140,000! It’s all hypothetical, of course, but doesn’t it make a great point!?

Moms form a powerful community

    Moms are hungry for information on parenting tips.  Moms love to talk, to listen, to advise and to be advised.  Motherhood and parenting advice is readily available, and even though parenting styles differ, the dialogue is great!  Parenthood is a club of sorts, with its “members” feeling comfortable talking with other parents who may be absolute strangers about private matters typically considered off limits.

    Whether you work inside or outside of the home or juggle both, you understand the demands on running a household.  Parenting kids is tough.

    Let’s say you’re a “juggler,” working inside and outside the home. Even if you’re comfortable with structure, organization and planning at work but haven’t figured out how to apply those skills at home, you’re far from alone. You may manage a major corporation or department in stride but struggle when it comes to putting lunches together and getting everyone out the door in the morning without having a nervous breakdown.

    Or, if you’re a full-time mom, you may be excellent at the creative side of parenting – singing, playing and so on – but may lack the business skills necessary to simultaneously juggle multiple tasks. This website will sharpen your “home business” skills so that you can accomplish motherhood with finesse and ease.

    Then, of course, there are many, many variations of these two groups. For example, a full-time mom who decides to return to the workforce part- or full-time will find the juggling act extremely frustrating and challenging without the proper skills. Or, a mother who never worked in an office setting may need organizational and management skills to more effectively run a household.

    The Business of Motherhood understands and respects a busy parent’s lifestyle. No matter which balls are involved, the juggling act is intense and leaves very little time for reading or research.

    Note: We’re focused on “Mom” but don’t want to alienate other important parenting scenarios such as stay-at-home dads and single parents. It takes a village, as we all know!  Also, whether you're parenting adolescents or teens, there's lots more in the pages ahead.  Visit our Mom Life page!