Definitions

I am a dictionary.com fanatic. I love new words, looking up the meanings, and adding to our (mine and my children's) vocabulary lists. How do you define yourself?

Most people define themselves by their career or occupation or their religion or their social class or economic status or who knows?....But what really matters? Well, there is an easy way to figure that one out. In your mind...go to your death bed, pretend it is today or tomorrow and ask yourself what you would or would not regret. What truly matters? I say: family.

As a mother I find these acronyms humorous: SAHM-stay at home mom; WAHM-work at home mom; WOHM-work outside the home mom...and I am sure there are many others I am not aware of. I find those humorous NOW but not always. There were the times when friends (who were WOHM when I was a SAHM even though I didn't stay at home and worked non-stop-just not for pay)...back to the point.."friends" said things like "must be nice to stay home and bake cookies all day". What?? Who bakes cookies all day? The keebler elves? But I was, in truth, defensive. And so were they. Later on in life I had to "go" to work, for pay. I remember running errands on my lunch hour and seeing moms with little children and thinking, how lucky, if they get to spend the whole day with their child/children, how great that is! I sometimes stopped them and told them. I also told them what I believe, that there is NOTHING in life more important than being there. Right there...

I consider myself to fit into all of those categories (SAHM, WAHM, WOHM) but the key word is "MOM". I chose to be a mom. My children did not choose to be brought into this world. They are the best gifts in the world to me.

When our daughter was born prematurely and with reflux, we were suffering from sleep deprivation in a big way. My husband and I were taking it out on each other by being crabby, impatient and basically, not very loving. But one day when he was at his wit's end with me and my hormonal ups and downs-having just given birth after all- he looked down at our sleeping (peacefully at that moment) daughter and said, "This little baby is the best gift anyone has ever given to me." I don't know if he remembers that, but I always will.


Give a gift today. Give yourself. Give your love. Give it to your spouse or your child(ren) or to your parent, sibling, friend, grandparent, cousin, etc.! Better yet, give to all of them! Don't forget to love yourself, too!