Success

I was always a person that felt successful... as a student, in my career, in love :)  But I have never felt so much success as I do now as a stay-at-home mom/wife/cook/cleaning lady/homework helper/church volunteer/etc.  I think it's because I'm watching God work in my life and listening to what he wants me to do.  I wasn't meant to be a working mom.  For some, that's ok and it works for many families.  There's absolutely nothing wrong with women having careers.  But for me, I am so fulfilled by being home with my kids and watching them grow, that I'll make any sacrifice to do so.

I've felt that way since my last day of "work" over 3 years ago (when Abi was born), but it wasn't until recently that I was able to reflect on it.  In the fall, I started attending Familia meetings at my church.  If you aren't familiar with the program, you can check it out here. The document that I read for the meetings has opened my eyes to what it means to be a wife and mother.  The document is Pope John Paul II's "The Dignity of Women."  

Wow!  JPII was so in touch with women and what our role really is.  I won't go into the details of the whole document (it's jam packed with great stuff!), but the thing that sticks with me most from it is that women cannot truly find themselves except through a sincere gift of self.  So when we feel like all we do is chauffeur our kids to school, gymnastics and soccer practice, prepare meals that they turn their noses up at and drag whining children out of bed to go to church on Sunday morning, we have to know that THAT'S WHAT WE'RE HERE FOR!  Yikes!  Not an easy job.  But someone has to do it and it's through doing these things that we find who we really are.  

So, do I sometimes think that I'm using my college education to scrape dried peanut butter off a dirty dish?  Sure.  But there's great satisfaction in knowing that my husband and children are loved and they never have to worry about how they'll get home from school or if dinner will be on the table when they get home.  My job is to be their rock and to give to them everything I have.  There's great power in that and to me, that's success.