celebrating six years of motherhood

I was beginning to write this earlier today, and a sweet 2 year old came to me, and asked, "Mommy, play with me?" How could I resist, so here I am, a couple hours later, and all my original thoughts gone with the wind.

My oldest recently turned 6. That means I have been a mommy for 6 years. Wow. Today, I am blessed. I have not always felt so joyful or at ease with having that title. For years, I always answered that question, "So what do you do?" with "I stay at home with my kids, but I am a teacher, or and I am a substitute teacher, or when the kids get older I'll go back to work." I felt insecure with soley being a stay at home mom and home maker. I needed to tell people that I am more, that I am educated, I am able.

I used to be one of those people who thought that women who stayed home full time were wasting their skills and abilities, their training and talent. I used to believe that I would be able to work and mother, and "do it all!" I used to believe that that was important. However, even when I was in college and university, I would say, "I don't know if I'll teach full time, I just think education is a good degree to have if I wanted to do other things too." Even then I think that I knew that classroon teaching was not what I wanted to do.

We have chosen for me to stay home, for me to be teaching our kids, for us to survive on one salary. This was not something we knew would happen when we had kids. When we had our first, we thought that I would work again (and I subbed up until we had our 3rd child). These are not things that my husband has forced on me. This has been an evolution of philosophy for me.  All of these are choices, and they are not easy ones. They require sacrifice and discipline. But they are worth it.

The last year I have especially grown into the comfort of my own skin and beliefs. I am finally able to say that I am a wife, mother, home schooler and home maker with pride. This is what I am supposed to be doing right now. And most days I love it. I love cooking, creating, thrifting, teaching, relating, supporting, and mothering.

What I am doing used to be the norm. It used to be a wonderful thing to stay home with your kids, and take care of your family. A woman who just just a mother used to be called, "blessed."

The past 6 years has been a period of incredible and amazing growth for me. And I would not have experienced this if it was not for my children. I am blessed.

This is a book I have just started reading. Looks like a gooder so far :)