I’m going to admit it here :: I am a great mom. There’s no doubt about it. I am quite hesitant to say that I am good at much of anything else. I am a great Netflix-binger. Sometimes I can make people laugh. I’m a horrible housewife. I like to cook, but I’m not a huge recipe follower. I am socially awkward around people older than age 8, but I am a great mom. While there are times that I feel like I am losing my mind or that I’m just the babysitter waiting for the “real mom” to show up, overall I am killing it at this mom business. I can multitask like no other. I can discipline and love in the same breath. I’m fairly organized, calendar-wise. Need something? Call Mom.
There’s been a lot of talk recently about the female gender and I am here to say that if the world was run by moms, this would be a much happier place. There’s a lot of times I look at a business and how it is running or how they are spending their money and think, “That is clearly being managed by a man. A woman would never run this business that way.” Mothers are strong, independent women whose purpose is to nurture and care for their family. I am the CEO of my family, a natural progression of the leadership in our house. Who plans the outings? I do. Who knows where the shoes are? I do. Who can solve the problems of the world? I can.
We Teach Respect and Following Instructions
Growing up my parents forced “Yes ma’am” and “No sir” on us in every conversation. During that time I thought it was some weird power-play, but now as an adult, I realize they were making sure that I treated everyone I came across with respect. It doesn’t matter if it is the barista at Starbucks, the mailman delivering the Amazon Prime packages, your teachers, the angry driver in the car next to us, each one of these is an individual person with their own problems and issues and deserves respect and by golly, we are going to give it to them. I will say that I don’t pressure the “Yes ma’am” thing as much as my parents do, but I do try to live by example. They say it not because I force them to, but because I show them the importance of respecting each person we come across in our daily life.
We also teach how to follow instructions. Even if it something simple, like making breakfasts or lunches, my kids follow my instructions. “Ok, now I need the peanut butter. Can you get it for me?” You definitely have to be able to teach your kids to listen to others. These are both lessons that our world leaders could glean from moms. Being respectful could bring us to a happier place politically, instead of just thinking of everyone as your enemy. Moms have a huge responsibility and opportunity to raise global citizens for tomorrow by teaching them how connected we all are.
We Instill Confidence
One thing that I am very proud of is the individuality of both of my girls. I have one super girly, fancy-dress wearing daughter, and one sassy-pants, doesn’t care what she wears daughter. They are both super cool and different in their own right. We teach them that they are in control of their body and that they can do anything. It’s true :: we have a “safe word” that we use if we are playing too rough or if they are being too annoying and we want them to stop. It’s “strawberry”. If someone says “strawberry”, we stop and no more rough-housing. In a way, we are teaching them that they are in control of their body. Quite a few times, Elizabeth has told me that she has used “strawberry” at school to get kids to leave her alone. Kaitlyn had a friend that wouldn’t stop messing with her, despite her telling him repeatedly to stop, so she got fed up and bit him {through a thick jacket. He wasn’t hurt.}. I wasn’t proud of the specific action she chose, but I was definitely proud that she stood up for herself and told this boy to leave her alone. It’s moments like those that tell me that I am doing something right. If world leaders had a mom in charge, their confidence to actually stand up to bullies and do what is right for the world would soar.
Embracing Diversity
My oldest is in public school and her class is quite diverse. We’ve taught from a very young age that each person is special and unique, no matter what differences we may have. We are very proud to live in a diverse neighborhood and that my daughter has friends of all skin colors. We have always said that we don’t care who our daughters bring home for the holidays when they are older, as long as they are good-looking and make our family portraits look good! This is the same for friends at school. Bring your friends over. All are welcome!
Man, imagine if the world was run this way. The silly things that divide us would not exist. Our world would be more cohesive and happy. We would work together, instead of fighting each other and hating someone for superficial reasons. Instead of hating, we could show love and learn from one another. I cannot tell you how much I have learned from our diverse group of moms at Houston Moms Blog. It makes me sick to think of the close-mindedness going on around the world just because someone was born a tiny bit different than you.
Changing the world is hard, but if anyone could do it, it would be a mom. I once had a professor in college that said it wasn’t fruitful to try and convince the people around you to become Christian or change their views {it was a theology class}, but if you wanted the world to be Christian then you needed to “make new Christians in the bedroom.” While this certainly woke up the 8 AM class I was in, the sentiment has stuck with me throughout the years. If we want the world to be a better place, we have to start with our own selves and our kids.
