Whether you’re a stay at home mum or a working mum, at some point, you must have felt that your entire life revolves around your children. You stared at your reflection and wondered where that successful, independent, modern, 21st-century woman went. You felt like you were just a mum.
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Maybe someone said something. Or maybe as much as you love your children, you feel that your career and life aspirations are hindered because every decision you make depends on your children. Sometimes you feel you compromise too much. Sometimes you feel that you are settling. Because at the end of the day, you are just a mum.
But have you ever realised just how very powerful the word ‘mum’ is? Have you ever realised just how many associations it has?
Yes, you are just a mum and that’s probably more than you can ever handle because just by being a mum, you are so much more. And I’m not sure you realise that.
You’re just a mum. And in being a mum you’re also a little bit of an artist and a musician. Maybe you have innate talents or maybe you spend hours watching Youtube. Whichever way you do it, you bring magic to that blank piece of paper in front of your child and you bring out her inner Picasso. You may be completely tone-deaf but you sit right there, in front of the piano. You struggle alongside your child to summon her inner Beethoven. That’s what it means to be just a mum.
You’re just a mum and you’re also a little bit of a nurse and a doctor. You may have had a phobia of blood all your life but the day your child fell and needed stitches, you found all the courage within you to wipe that blood and stop that bleeding until he received medical attention. Maybe you failed all your biology examination in school but trust me, when you become a mum, you would have read up so much that you probably have decent knowledge about every possible childhood illness under the sun.
When you assess your child’s symptoms and make a guess, and the doctor’s diagnosis confirms your speculations, you actually feel quite proud of yourself. Yes, that’s what it is to be just a mum.
You’re just a mum but you’re also a little bit of an actor and a lot of a teacher. You may be the most expressionless person in town but being a mum means you bring to life those stories that you read to your child. You speak to your child with a myriad of expressions just to hear her giggle and just to entertain her. You spend many hours with flashcards and phonics, spelling and multiplication tables.
You’re just a mum but also a bit, in fact very much, a master chef. However terrible a cook you are, there’s bound to be something that you make that your child will proudly tell her friends, “No one makes that better than my mum.” And that feels pretty awesome to hear.
You’re just a mum but you’re also a bit of a therapist, friend, confidante and counsellor. You break up vicious fights between your children, you listen to them cry, you listen to their fears, troubles and insecurities. And even if you’re not the best with words, there’s something that you will say that will strike a chord in them. Years down the road they will say, “my mother used to say… ” And whatever it is that you say or do, it will always make them feel better knowing you are there. Always.
So as you read all of these you might wonder if I’m sugar-coating the fact that you are a jack of all trades and a master of none. Because you know, you’re just a mum.
But let me remind you, you are a master of one. You’re a master at being a mum. Which also means that you’re a master at multitasking. You may not be the best at all the other things that you do, but more often than not, no one juggles and does as much as a mum does. So you’re not just a mum, you’re a mum and all that.
And all those other things that you do, the artist, musician, doctor, master chef, baker and teacher? They are by no means easy. So give yourself a pat on your back for being just a mum.
It means that you have tenacity, grit, resilience and an iron will. It’s not easy. It’s the hardest thing anyone ever has to do and you are doing it every single day of your life. That’s pretty commendable!
