Motherhood is a privilege and one of the most intense, enduring, trying and fulfilling opportunities a woman will ever face. It is a position that holds the highest of responsibility, and one which would benefit from extensive knowledge in any given subject.

Yet becoming a mom does not require a Bachelor's Degree, Certification or even a high school diploma.

Be all that you can be, and all that!

Welcome to motherhood.

I often wonder why they don't teach this in school. You cannot possibly understand the rudiments of being a mother simply because you tote a pretend baby around with you everywhere you go.

The health and sex education classes should deal less with the delivery of the baby and more with the trauma to the mother after the baby is born.

Suddenly you no longer have a life. It belongs to those ungrateful little rug rats who call you mom. Sleep depravation becomes a way of life and you don't bat an eyelash at a smelly diaper that would gag the green giant.

Once the cute little baby who has deprived you of sleep and provisioned you with an enormous amount of "waste" is no longer a new born, well now your on-the-job training begins in earnest.

Being mom means you are at times, a chauffeur, nurse, teacher, cook, maid, nutritionist, coach, waste management engineer, maid, research specialist, secretary and even a scientist. Oh, and did I mention - maid?

You can see how having an extensive education would be helpful.

Getting out of bed in the morning is just such a treat. You know that after the breakfast is prepared (which they probably won't eat), the lunches made (which you know they won't eat) and that first infusion of caffeine hits the bloodstream, you are going to have the joy of waking them up.

Caffeine and anticipation infuse your step with an extra bounce because you know, ultimately, you are going to have to tickle their feet, splash them with cold water or literally drag them from the bed until their entire body is prone and cold on the floor. The hardest decision you have to make at this point in your day is which form of torture you are going to use.

You smile gleefully (on the inside of course), while they grumble their way through a small portion of their breakfast, complain and then have the audacity to ask why you don't realize you are possibly scarring them for life!

You listen while you not so gently urge them to finish so you can push them through that door.

You would think that once the door has slammed shut behind them that you would at least have the time to relax over that second cup of java. But in all likelihood, you carry it around the house with you because you know there is an aftermath to the cyclone that just passed through your house, camouflaged as teenagers. Hence, the maid is required.

Wearing your nutritionist's hat, you head on out to do the groceries after you put a load of laundry in. You hesitate to answer the dang cell phone because it is the school calling and you wonder are they hurt? Did they get in a fight? Have they skipped class - again? Standing in the check out line, waiting for the bottom line on your purchases, you take the plunge and answer the phone.

By the way, who invented cell phones? Aren't we busy enough without them?

"Mrs. Mom, could you please come to the hospital, your son rolled his ankle during basketball practice and we have taken him there, but we cannot be responsible for him."

You hang up the phone thankful that your shopping list was small today and everything should be fine until you are able to get home as you slip on your nurse' hat.  And so the day goes. . .

I met one of my children's teachers in a downtown shop one day. I knew her and she knew me, but both hesitated to make that first eye contact. Being the mother in this case, I bravely looked her way and smiled.

That's all it took. I was soon regaled with good stories of my child's accomplishments and I walked tall back to my car.

I was stopped by the lady at the cross walk when the boys were quite young just so she could tell me that my guys were very polite. We all walked proud the rest of the way to school that day.

Now and then I hear some of the stories that make a mother shudder. These come from the boys themselves, and I'm glad they waited to tell me until they were adults. I hate to think of the rampage I would have gone on had I known back then.

The times we remember the most are the fun times we had together and with their friends, and there have been many.

The rewards come from knowing that you have done your best and raised your children to be thoughtful, mindful and loving individuals. The rewards are in knowing that they feel free to talk to you about anything - and I mean anything! The reward is in seeing them making their own decisions - even the wrong ones sometimes, but knowing that you helped to equip them with the common sense to learn from their mistakes.

While I have taken the trouble to paint a picture that is certainly less than perfect, it does point out a few things that are often overlooked when a young girl is dreaming of motherhood. The day to day life as a mother is often over powering. A mother's job seems never ending and quite often thankless. It is not until you become a mother that you realize how much your mother means to you and how much she did for you.

Being mom means that you are constantly watched by your children. Everything you do is observed even if it is not remarked upon.

Being mom is watching as the children grow, taking those painful steps with them, and teaching them values. Math, English, History and Science are all subjects that can be learned at any school. Values are something you as their mother have a much bigger hand in.

Being mom is loving them. That love is unconditionally returned when they are infants. The hard part is waiting for them to acknowledge that love once they hit the teenage years.

Being mom is work. Good, hard work with the best possible opportunity for ROI in any job out there.

Being mom is living, loving, laughing, learning and teaching with your children

Being mom is one privilege I am ever thankful I have had the honor of.

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