Welcome to Strings of Motherhood

As I travel this path of the next decade of my life I noticed there is a common thread.

I am a wife, a mother, a daughter, a friend. A child of God, a rebel, a woman.

I have noticed that lately, I seem to be surrounded by strings. Two months ago I started making aprons. Recently I purchased my first personally owned tight lace corset. The intricacies of my life are similar to that of a marionette maker - pull this string, give that one some slack - the giant balancing act of being a homemaker - everything to everyone.

The Mom who just happens to be at home so of course she can run 3 fundraisers in 2 weeks. The Wife who is of course available so she can do the last minute shopping for the children's gift bags for the company picnic. The Daughter who if obviously available for phone calls of tears or joy at any given time. The Friend who's shoulder will catch tears at midnight because, of course, she doesn't have a job to get up to in the morning...

...Save the child that is sick, the house that needs to be cleaned, the laundry that needs to be done. The husband who needs to be nurtured and loved, the math problem solver who needs an extra push, the friend who's husband is threatening to leave who needs a shoulder to cry on. The volunteer work that needs to be done, the dog that needs a walk, and the science experiment that just blew up in the kitchen.

Full time job? Funny - I don't consider it one. Maybe that's because at the end of a day at work in a full time job, you get to go somewhere else. The boss generally doesn't call you at all hours. You're seldom on call 24/7/365. If I were a paid employee somewhere I'd get time and a half when I had to come in after hours to take care of my ill "Jr. Employer". If I were a paid employee my mileage would be reimbursed for the errands I had to run for the bosses. If I were a paid employee...

If I were a paid employee I wouldn't be allowed to show up at work in my pajamas. I wouldn't be able to send my boss to his room when he misbehaved. I certainly couldn't make "the big boss" sleep on the couch.

I'd miss so much. The "Thank you so much for doing that for me. You're the best wife in the world."'s. The "Uh....Moooommmmm....(kaboom rattle rattle boom)"'s. The "Mom!!! I did it!!!!"'s.

Would this be worth giving up one second? Not a chance. I'll keep my corset strings and my apron strings. I'm the only one who can make this marionette do her dance...

...and dance I shall.