I Am Super Mom!

    I am Super Mom! Okay not really – I am just a mom doing what needs to be done. I am the proud mother of two rambunctious boys and one very dramatic little girl. So what makes everyone of late tip their hat to me and have them saying I am super mom? Everything I do is something that needs doing and everything I don't still needs doing. To me, I am just like every other mom, who does what she can and gets her pay in hugs and kisses.
    As a parent, whether conscious or unconscious, you tailor your life around the needs of your family and most important the needs of your children. Just about four years ago my husband and I made a life changing decision brought about by a life changing event. The birth of our daughter was the life changing event and the life changing decision was for me to become a stay at home mom after her birth. So what's so big about that? Women leave the workforce all the time to stay at home with the kids but the difference is our decision was made by our daughter.
    I tip my hat to every mother, who at one time or another, has ever stayed at home with the kids. Staying at home is insane! I was positive, by six months in, I was going to lose my mind. I would look for ways of going back to work. It is crazy all the things you have to do when you become a stay at home mom. Back in the beginning I had more bad days then good days and now when I have a bad day it has just turned into being "Well it looks like we are going to have one of those days!" As time went on though – as more and more good days came – I knew we had made the right decision. So I bet you all are wondering, with how I feel about staying at home, how our daughter – a newborn at the time – made our decision for us. It is because our daughter was born with a rare genetic syndrome called Nager's Syndrome.
    What is Nager's Syndrome? I've never heard of it. That is the most common reaction I get, well next to "Aw what's wrong with her?" Keira, our daughter, has only a mild form of the syndrome, but it is severe enough where it requires her to have a trach (a breathing tube) and a g-tube (feeding tube). Nager's, in technical terms acrofacial dysostosis, is a rare genetic condition involving physical anomalies to the face and limbs. Keira has a recessed lower jaw along with fusion of the jaw (meaning her jaw will only open to a certain point), as well as hypoplasia of both radius bones. She also was born with an underdeveloped thumb on her left hand and the absence of a thumb on her right hand. She has had surgery to correct the left – they took off her underdeveloped thumb and turned her index finger into her thumb – and we did the same process to her right hand. The syndrome also causes temporary to permanent hearing loss because of the underdevelopment of both the outer and middle ear, which Keira has, causing her to have moderately severe bone conduction loss in both ears, requiring her to wear a bone conduction hearing aid. Other than a few physical differences, Keira is a normal, healthy little girl.
    Aw how sad! The poor little thing! Oh, I am so sorry dear! What? Sorry? Sorry for what? Poor little thing? My daughter is a "thing"? Okay so I just went on a tangent there – I am sure most of you thought some of that – those are normal reactions to hearing about my daughter and those are my normal reactions to what is said. Of course I don't say them out loud as most people would be taken aback, thinking me rude at their sympathy – which no offense don't need and don't want. How people react to my daughter doesn't bother me but when they feel sorry for her or me (for having "taken" on such a responsibility), that is where I have a problem. Keira is just as normal as the next kid – smart and mischievous to boot. As for me, there is no responsibility too great when it comes to your child.
    Now here is where people ask me how I do it. And by "it" I mean take on everything I do – which I will give you the short of it. "It" refers to taking care of the housework, the household finances, be a full time college student and a writer, taking care of three kids, one with special medical needs and that includes coordinating with doctors on her plan of treatment, oh and you can't forget taking care of the ever loving man by my side – my husband. This is where I am told I am super mom and my reply to that is – "No, I'm just a mom and a wife and how I do it is, I just do." So my house isn't always the cleanest – I will be the first to admit the dinner dishes aren't always done the night they are used – but the house does get cleaned, the laundry and dishes do get done, the kids are always fed and bathed, and I do manage to get time to myself to curl up with a book or watch a movie with my husband. I have come to learn and believe that when a woman leaves the workforce to become a stay at home mom she has only traded it for another full time job, one in which she gets paid with hugs and kisses.
    Since people think of me as super mom, I began to think of all the different jobs I do, jobs that people get paid for. It is not just me who does these jobs; it is every other mom as well. Here is a litany of jobs a mom does everyday –
    She is a cook, a baker, a candy maker, a maid, a laundress, a seamstress, a grocer, a stocker, a clerk, a secretary, an answering service, a messenger, a delivery driver, a driver training instructor, and a chauffeur. She is a mechanic, a repair woman, an inventor, a scientist, a researcher, a research assistant, a computer specialist, an electronic specialist, a teacher, a mathematician, a historian, a reading specialist, a librarian, an artist, a writer, and a reporter. She is a counselor, a speech pathologist, a linguistic expert, an interpreter, and an occupational therapist. She is a human relations specialist and coordinator, a schedule coordinator, an appointment setter, a marketing specialist, a behavioral therapist, a psychologist, and an early child care developmental specialist. She is a loan officer, a banker, an accountant, a payroll clerk, a police officer, a judge, a lawyer, and a juror. She is a nurse, a doctor, and a paramedic. She is an air traffic controller and a flight instructor. She is an image consultant, a fashion designer, a fashion coordinator, a hair dresser, a make-up artist, a costume designer, a film maker, a director, an actress, a music coordinator, an entertainment coordinator, and a photographer. She is an athletic director, an athletic coordinator, an athletic coach, and a personal trainer. She is a gardener and a lawn care specialist. She is a painter, a plumber, a window washer, and an interior designer. She is in waste disposal management, water works management, and she is an energy conservationist. She is the chief executive officer, the chief operating officer, the president, and she is a queen!
    All of these different jobs can be summed up with just one title – MOM! Every woman who is a mother does all of these and probably more. Oh we might complain from time to time, or get bogged down with one thing or another, but the thing about a mom is she keeps on going and doing because that is what a mom does. So when someone says I am super mom, I'm really not, I am just a mom doing what needs to be done. In my book any mom who can do all these jobs everyday; well she is a super mom!