Popping Your Mommy Collar

 

The other day I was sitting down on the foot of our bed gazing out the window and a thought popped into my head.  The thought was, " I am a damn good mom and wife!"  Now for all my fellow Christians, please forgive me for the curse word, but I must be honest, that is what came to my mind.  I then verbalized it and said, "Angela you are a great mom!"  Now you may be wondering how I came to this conclusion.  Well, I had just been up two nights in a row nursing a fever of 102 that our six year old was fighting, as well as a sick 3 year old and flu infested husband.  As I sat on the bed, I inhaled and exhaled a deep breath while thinking how tired I was.  Then I began to ponder on days of old, my life BH, "before hubby" and how I moved to various cities in pursuit of my dreams, goals and ambitions.  How I was able to be totally selfish and live, breathe and think of only myself! Next my bed sitting visions carried me to my life BC, "before children!"  OH those glorious days of being able to sleep long and hard.  Not having to wipe butts, clean up mouth slobber, encourage, empower, teach, train, motivate, discipline, solve conflicts....... And then I had an epiphany!   Most of my professional life task, with the exception of changing diapers and cleaning mouth slobber, had properly equipped me for being a mommy.

Then a mental picture of my daily task bombarded my thoughts.  Listed are just a few of them:
1. Cooking
2. Cleaning, Mopping, Dusting, Vacuuming, dishes (Keeping the house clean, healthy and as happy as possible)
3. Laundry (Wash, Dry, Fold and Iron if need be)
4. Couponing ( to save money anywhere possible)
5. Bargain Grocery and Household Shopping
6. Setting up all appointments
7. Taking kids to doctor appointment, school, and extra curriculum actives
8. Home schooling 3 year old
9. Helping 6 year old with her school homework as well as other assignments
10. Paying Bills
11. Setting up bill arrangements
12. Tending to sick kids and hubby
13. Finding and taking children to educational actives, parks, etc.
14. Chaperoning field trips
15. Building character into children
16. Teaching morality, christianity, etc.
17. Grooming kids hair, trimming finger and toe nails
18. etc., etc., etc.,
And the list goes on and on and on and on, and on and on and on............... I have not even mentioned all that I do for my husband as well as trying to nurture my creative side as a woman.

As the list floated around in my mind like a cloud, I began to stick my chest out.  I am a task and goal oriented person.  I see my role as a stay home mom as a job that has certain duties just like my husbands job requires him to perform various task.  My tasks DO NOT define me or make me a great mom!  What makes me a great mom is my ability to know that I am a great person carrying out specific task that positively impact the running of my corporation called, "The Ayers Family."  As a stay home mom, it is sooooo easy to feel as if your identity is being "just a mom." But the reality is you are not just a mom.  You MUST see yourself as the CEO of your company and that without you, the company would eventually go mentally, emotionally, physically, financially, socially, spiritually, psychologically and academically

As I played that mental list over and over again, I remembered hearing people use the phrase "pop your collar."  The Urban Dictionary defines POP YOUR COLLAR as:   "When you pop your collar, you reach up to the shoulder of the corresponding arm or across the chest to the opposite shoulder, and, using your index finger and your thumb, you pull up on the shirt and let it "pop" down, hence the phrase. It is perfectly acceptable to pop your collar whenever you have accomplished a great, admirable feat, such as busting a sweet dance move, pawning the entire opposing team by yourself, or to establish your extremely high playa factor."

Once I read that definition, I kept rereading a certain section that said: "pop your collar whenever you have accomplished a great and admirable feat."  And that was exactly what I was mentally doing while sitting at the foot of our bed.  You see, many times, you will not have others to constantly uplift and congratulate you for all your accomplishments and feats, but you can and you must draw from within and do it yourself.

We moms, must pop our own mommy collars and know that we are the bomb!  And if you need to step up our mommy game, then do so.  Being a mom does not define you, you define what a mom is! And on those days that you are feeling exceptionally proud of yourself, do what the urban dictionary says constitutes a collar popping situation and "bust a sweet dance move!"

Until we blog again,


Angela the "collar popping" mommy!