Being a Mom is a Worthy Career Ambition

I’m a stay-at-home-mom, and it’s a worthy career.

When I was little, I distinctly remember playing with dolls – a lot. As the oldest of four kids, there were always little kids in the house, and it seemed natural to want to take care of younger people.  I would tote my Bitty Baby around, putting on her raincoat and packing her backpack full of doll food. I’d force my younger brother to sit on his bed while I read him “Little House on the Prairie.”

As I got older, I developed an obsession with the Babysitter’s Club books. My desire to be just like Kristy turned into be getting my babysitter certification at age 12, and pretty soon I was watching kids for everyone at my church. I loved coming up with games for the kids, feeding them pizza, and tucking them in while their parents were out – not to mention digging into ice cream and TV after they were asleep! I always loved babysitting, a very worthy job. 

As high school wore on, I was forced to start thinking about what I really wanted in life. Every time I closed my eyes, the dream picture was the same: college, marriage, kids, happily ever after.

Every job or career path I looked at, in the back of my mind I considered, “how would this work with being a mom?”

Of course, I had other ambitions as well. I wanted to travel. I wanted to fall in love. I aspired to be a librarian, write a book, or be an English teacher. My dream job was to get paid to read, but if I couldn’t have that, I at least wanted a job where I could teach kids to love to read as much as I did. “And being a teacher,” I mused, “I would have a schedule that would totally work with my kids! I could be home all summer and off weekends and major holidays…” And so, unconsciously or consciously, I started shaping my life around my future, hoped-for kids. 

Flash forward to today: I’ve got three children under the age of six with baby #4 on the way. I met my husband in college where we were both studying to be teachers and we got married right after graduation. I substitute taught while looking for a permanent teaching job, and eventually decided to be a SAHM when my oldest came around because I wasn’t in my dream career. 

It’s funny, though – it seems that, unbeknownst even to me, being a mother has been my dream career all along. 

For women these days, it is almost shameful to admit that maybe, for some of us, our strongest calling in life is to be a mom.

For decades and centuries and millennia, women have often been limited in what they are “allowed” to do. Obviously, that’s not cool. Women should have the same opportunities as men, and in many ways, today we do! We can rejoice that gone are the days when women weren’t allowed to have their own checking account. We can vote. We can be plumbers. We can be bakers or CEOS or whatever the heck we want to be. That is a blessing! 

However, even with all of the choices out there, it doesn’t mean being a mother isn’t still a great and worthy thing to be! It is still okay to proudly say “I want to be a mom when I grow up!”

Being a mom is, in many ways, the hardest job any of us will ever have. As a mom, you sacrifice so much – your body, your time, your heart. You give and give, endlessly, to a little person that sometimes just takes and takes. 

But – boy, do our children give. They give happiness, meaning, and color to life. They make us better people. They push us to grow. Our children teach us what’s important, make us wake up every day with a desire to be better, to love better, to make the world a better place. The love we grow in our homes as we tirelessly wipe noses, dole out hugs, make breakfast, and fold laundry creates the kind of people that are the backbone of a stable society. The little people we are caring for are the future. When you’re a mom, your career is literally building the future, brick by brick. That’s a pretty lofty ambition and a very worthy career goal!

Is it glamorous? No way. Your co-workers might often drive you crazy- but they also light up your life. You would die for them in an instant. A lot of the time, it’s not pretty, but it is beautiful. It is a joy, being a mom. It is the best thing you’ll ever do. 

The work your doing – I see you. It’s worthy work! In this world, you can be anything, but I hope we never forget that being a mother has always been –  and will always be –  a worthy career ambition.