My Mother's Day as a working Momma!

This was my first official Mother's Day! Clint spoiled me rotten, as usual. He made me banana pancakes. He knows the way to my heart. I am obsessed with pancakes and all things breakfast! He also got me my favorite dessert. Cheesecake. He gave me a gift card to one of my favorite stores and cleaned the entire house. I even got in an excellent nap after church. It was a great day.

That wasn't the only thing that made the day special, however. I had a lot of time to reflect on these past 10 wonderful months. My baby girl is now 10 months old! Wow, time flies! She is the BEST thing that has ever happened to me. She has taught me so much, and has made me a better person. Elsie is the sweetest baby girl, and is so full of energy and happiness. She loves to laugh. She loves peekaboo. She loves to be held up high in the air by her Daddy. She is a master crawler, and has been crawling since 6 months. She loves to sing and talk--although, what she is exactly saying we will never know. She loves to eat, and will eat ANYTHING--which, isn't always a good thing ha ha. She is experimenting with walking, and will take a few steps at a time. She loves to be tickled, and has the most contagious laugh and smile on the planet. I love her innocence, and dependence on me. She is my everything! Here is a recent picture of her. I love to show her off. Don't I have the most happy and gorgeous baby in the world?

This Mother's Day I also reflected on how my life has changed over the last 10 months and how much I have grown. I would now like to share that part of my story. I also want to share that I am a proud of supporter of Mom's everywhere--whether, they work or stay at home. In my opinion, each kind is fantastic!

I am a full-time teacher at Indian Hills Middle School. I love my job, and I love my students! However, I will be honest and say that I didn't continue working after Elsie was born just because I love what I do. The reason I continued working was a financial one. It was a "have-to". When Clint and I decided it would be best that I continued to work, it was hard for me. This came as a shock, honestly, because I had always loved teaching. However, I really wanted to stay home with my baby! Clint rearranged his school schedule, and delayed his graduation, so that he was able to stay at home with Elsie for the first 4 months. Then, my sweet Mom and Mother-in-law have stepped in and helped a lot with babysitting. For this, I am truly grateful. Their help and support has been amazing and I am so appreciative of them. I couldn't have made it through this school year without them.

This school year has been an interesting one! A difficult one. I quite often feel like I am failing on both fronts--as a mother, and a teacher. It is hard to balance both. I have had experiences where I am judged and looked down upon for working, and then at work have had those that judge me for not always putting my career first. I have shed a few tears over some mean comments, going either way, and have struggled to know where I fit in, and who to please--or, who is pleased with me.

I have slowly learned that I won't please everyone, and that, unfortunately, not everyone will be pleased with me. However, I do know of someone that is pleased with me, and that is my Heavenly Father. He is pleased that I am helping my family. He is pleased that I am doing my very best to raise a healthy, happy, and righteous daughter. He is pleased that I teach over 150 7th and 8th graders every day. He is pleased that I try to be the best teacher I can be. He is pleased that love my daughter. He is pleased that I love my students. He is pleased that I love my husband. He is pleased that I am trying--even if I come short sometimes. 

And, he is more than just pleased with me. He is aware. He is aware of how I feel. He is aware when others are not kind. He is aware when I show up to work exhausted because I have been up all night with a sick baby. He is aware of when I get home from a particularly hard day at work and am so worn out that I don't feel like I give my baby the attention, and energy that she needs. He is aware that somedays I am just surviving, while on other days I am thriving.

This is what I thought of on Mother's Day. I thought of the outstanding, unconditional love Heavenly Father has for her, and for me. I thought of the outstanding, unconditional love that I have for my daughter. I thought of how sad it would be to never know this kind of love, and how grateful I am that I have her here, and that she teaches me this kind of love every day. I have said it before, and I will say it again: Love is all you need!