D-I-A-Y Moms

by | Jun 4, 2018 | Blog

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“Doing-It-All-Yourself Moms”

I don’t know about you, but I thought this was a GREAT plan!  I knew at 6 years old that I wanted to be a Mom.  I wanted to cook for them, fold their clothes, read them stories, take them to the park, and watch them grow into amazing human beings.

I got that!  What I didn’t know at 6, then 7, then 10, and so on until they arrived after my 22nd birthday was that there is soooo much more!

My then boyfriend, now husband of 22 years and I talked about having a family.  I wanted to be a stay-at-home mom, and he wanted to be the provider.  (Old fashioned I know, but it was pretty awesome that we both agreed to it!)  We planned to start our family two years after we got married.  SURPRISE!!!  We got pregnant on our wedding night!  Next surprise…TWINS!!

When the boys were 22 months old, our next bundle made her appearance just 4 days before my 24th birthday.  By the following Christmas, our newest girly came down the chimney ;).   I was officially a mom of 4 kids that were 3 years old and younger.  My days were crazy and busy, but my heart was full.  I had zero interest in doing anything but being a wife and a mom.  We stayed a family of 6, perfectly balanced between girls and boys for 4 years.

 

By the time our 5th bundle arrived, the first 4 were just getting out of school for the summer.  She was our Memorial Day weekend baby.  We made a huge move up to Georgia when she was 2.  When she was 3, we found out another surprise was coming and I was due at Thanksgiving.  Sadly, our son had serious health issues and died before he was born.  Our next pregnancy ended at almost 10wks.  I was devastated.

In the summer of 2008, we were blessed to welcome our final bundle.  Shortly after he was born, I had to have major surgery.  At that time, I had 5 kids in school and a toddler.  I fixed breakfast for all of them, sent the big kids off to the bus.  I cleaned up, vacuumed, did laundry, dishes, and grocery shopping.  I took Bug to the park and everywhere I went.  I also went back to college and attended an online school, then transferred to a brick-and-mortar.  Now I had to fit school time and homework into my schedule.

We are active in our church family with teaching, leadership, and youth assignments.  The kids all have extra-curricular activities.  None of my daily requirements eased, let alone disappeared.  I felt like I couldn’t ask my husband for help since he was doing HIS job, and making the money to support our family.  I couldn’t ask anyone else because this was what I had wanted.  Asking for help would be a sign I couldn’t do it and shouldn’t have wanted it.
I didn’t want the kids to suffer, so I just trudged along.  Six birthdays a year.  Summer break (for them). Christmas and parties.  Friends wanting to sleep over and them wanting to stay at their friends.  Dad working 13-20 hours a day.
Now we enter the dating and driving phase for the older ones.  So now I am the go-to therapist for why their friends are behaving like they are.  Why this boy or girl won’t talk to them.  The teachers are mean.  No one understands.  Plus, the physical things happening.  SHEESH!!
Here is my list of accomplishments:

  • Daycare worker
  • Gourmet chef
  • Waitress/Server
  • Seamstress
  • Costume designer
  • Personal shopper
  • Clothing coordinator
  • Chauffer
  • Drivers Ed instructor
  • Laundress
  • Nurse
  • Doctor
  • Vet Tech (for pets and farm animals)
  • Janitor
  • Therapist
  • Investor/Small business manager
  • Social media manager
  • Chief financial officer
  • ATM
  • Delivery driver (“I forgot my…”)
  • Activity coordinator
  • Tech wizard (phone/tablet/pc)
  • Tutor
  • Pinterest duplicator 😉
  • Party planner…

Just off the top of my head!

What does your motherly accomplishment list look like?  Feel free to post it in the comments or on our Pin!

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