I’m sure that every mother has things that make her proud of her mothering skills–some activity or item that causes you to pat yourself on the back and say, “Good Job.” Perhaps you feel especially good if you manage to get the whole family seated around the dinner table. Maybe a spotless bathroom fills you with joy. You might be one of those people who feels wonderful when your children go to bed without incident.
Despite my role as a stay-at-home mom, I was born without the cooking and cleaning gene. Dust bunnies tumble freely down my halls and our local grocery store makes way too many of my family’s meals. I get neither pride nor joy from these activities. For me, they are simply chores.
Educational Chaos
The bins in Charlie’s room, however, are my greatest source fo pride. Here we keep materials for our learning units. Here is where I keep my labors as Charlie’s mom. Just looking at these bins gives me a feeling of contentment and ease. I feel reassured that I have tried to teach; I have exposed him to a variety of things. One of my greatest fears as a mother is that I’m not doing enough for Charlie. I worry that he watches too much TV and doesn’t get enough real-life experience. These bins help assuage my fears and make me feel better. I may fail at much, but I know his mind is stimulated.
We all have our thing–what’s yours?