Celeb Moms

Hey, this month lets take inspiration from a very, very hardworking wondermom - you! All moms are celebrities in their own right and this little piece will tell you why. So for all you mums out there, this is your life portrayed below-

I'm Just a Mother? Excuse Me???

A few months ago, when I was picking up the children at school, another mother I knew well rushed up to me. Pooja was fuming with indignation." Do you know what you and I are?" she demanded. Before I could answer and I didn't really have one handy she blurted out the reason for her question.

It seemed she had just returned from renewing her driver's license. Asked by the clerk at the Transport office to state her occupation, Pooja had hesitated, uncertain how to classify herself.

"What I mean is," explained the clerk, "do you have a job, or are you just a.....?"

"Of course I have a job," snapped Pooja. "I'm a mother."

"We don't list 'mother' as an occupation...'housewife' covers it," said the clerk emphatically.

I forgot all about her story until one day I found myself in the same situation, this time at the passport office.
The clerk was obviously a career woman, poised, efficient, and possessed of a high sounding title.

"And what is your occupation?" she probed.

What made me say it, I do not know. The words simply popped out.

"I'm a Research Associate in the field of Child Development and Human Relations."

The clerk paused, ball-point pen frozen in midair, and looked up as though she had not heard right.

I repeated the title slowly, emphasizing the most significant words.

Then I stared with wonder as my pompous pronouncement was written in bold, black ink on the official questionnaire.

"Might I ask," said the clerk with new interest, "just what you do in your field?"

Coolly, without any trace of fluster in my voice, I heard myself reply, "I have a continuing program of research (what mother doesn't) in the laboratory and in the field (normally I would have said indoors and out).

I'm working for my Masters (the whole darned family) and already have three credits (one son and two daughters).

"Of course, the job is one of the most demanding in the humanities (any mother care to disagree?) and I often work 14 hours a day (24 is more like it). But the job is more challenging than most run-of-the-mill careers and the rewards are in satisfaction rather than just money."

There was an increasing note of respect in the clerk's voice as she completed the form, stood up, and personally ushered me to the door.

As I drove into our driveway, buoyed up by my glamorous new career, I was greeted by my lab assistants - ages 7 and 3. Upstairs I could hear our new experimental model (6 months) in the child-development program, testing out a new vocal pattern. I felt triumphant! I had scored a beat on bureaucracy! And I had gone on the official records as someone more distinguished and indispensable to mankind than "just another mother."

Motherhood...what a glorious career. Especially when there's a title on the door.

So the next time some one looks down at you because you're 'only' a mom, tell them who you really are - a celeb who has influence over the direction and destiny of the entire human race!