Let’s start by pretending that on Mother’s Day all adult children owe money to their mothers. Not roses, not brunch, not candy, a call or cards (although those are all really nice too), but MONEY. Here goes…
The reasons for this yearly expense are many, but primarily it’s because a full-time mom never gets paid for her work, which is THE most important work on the planet. No other profession compares with the importance of this job and the world will NEVER address this lack of appreciation. So what if it were up to the children to do that. After all, who carried them nine months? Nursed them? Rocked them? Changed their diapers? Dressed them? Wiped them? Sang to them? Taught them to ride their bikes? Have good manners? Tie their shoes? Talk? Walk? Pretty much everything we adults can do is because of our moms day-in-and-day-out, 24/7 care.
So what if Mother’s Day was treated the same way our country treats April 15, the day our income tax returns are due? The agency would be called the MRS (Maternal Revenue Service), instead of IRS. The amount of money one owes to the MRS would depend on the income of the child, just like your taxes do? In other words the more successful the adult child is the more it would have to pay.
Adult children would look at Mother’s Day as a day one must save up for and maybe even have to borrow for if the funds weren’t available. (We moms would take credit cards.) Just like taxes, there’d be deductions for items like calls, texts and general correspondence throughout the year (documented of course) and there’d be deductions for grandchildren as long as the grandmoms had access to them on a regular basis.
In addition to deductions, there’d also be penalties assessed for living at home after you’re 21, enjoying the parent’s insurance benefits after you're 21 and until you're 26, and incarceration. Moving away and taking grandchildren with them would be a flat fee per grandchild. A penalty for failing to call on important holidays and special occasions, if the adult child lives away, would be weighed on the importance of such attention by the mom.
My granddaughter McKenzie is a new mom and her baby is now nine months old. McKenzie is a fourth generation stay-at-home mom. The other day we were together while Cassius thrilled himself with his ability to almost walk. (He took one step, kept his balance and became so exhilarated with his achievement that he did two marching steps in place and fell down. He cried until Mom immediately helped him up to try again.) We were both so happy that we could be present with every little piece of progress this baby makes and being able to witness it ourselves, not some daycare person who has ten other babies to care for. McKenzie said, “I don’t know how mothers can leave their babies in daycare! It’d be too hard to do for me. I just can’t do it.”
We moms do the work selflessly, knowing we’ll never get paid and we'll never build up social security toward retirement. When we choose to stay home and raise our children, we have made a choice that will help our country continue to thrive. My homemaker’s creed goes like this:
I am responsible for creating a climate of love, peace, joy, beauty and order in my home. I am raising responsible citizens of the United States of America. What do you do?
Staying at home with your kids is more fun when you're organized. The Sidetracked Home Executive 3x5 card file system is now 41 years old and hundreds of thousands of stay-at-home moms use it. Today, it has never been easier to give it a try.
HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!!!!
Love,
P.S. Please share this with all the wonderful moms you know. We need to stick together!