We all know how it goes.  Whether it’s for academics, sports, music, or film/television, people’s acceptance speeches for awards follow a similar format.  Usually God is thanked first.  If it is in entertainment, the fans are thanked.  Mentors may be thanked for both academics and entertainment. Spouses/partners are thanked for their love and support.  And last but not least, parents and in particular mothers are thanked.  It’s also usually a backstory of all the struggles mom went through to get you to where you are and how you are successful because of mom.  This is one of the best compliments that a child can pay a mother.  Because of you, I am this.  Some may ask, why do mothers get all these accolades?  Here’s what it breaks down to.

Before you even know you are going to be a mom, your little grain of sand sized embryo knows that you’re their mom.  They are hearing everything you say, eating everything you eat, and listening to your heartbeat.  They are becoming so attached to you, because you are the only thing they know.  As they begin to grow and develop they can let you know that they are there by kicking and wiggling around in the womb.  Finally, when a baby is born, they get to meet the person who they’ve only heard and felt, but have never seen and instantly, both mother and child fall in love.  That feeling alone brings about new responsibility and all types of other emotions you may not have even known that you have.

The biggest adjustment with becoming a parent is not being able to do anything on your time.  A simple task like running to the store for eggs no longer exists.  If it’s not great weather, you must ensure the baby is wrapped up accordingly.  Then you must secure the baby in their car seat, and make sure that’s secure before you drive off.  Then you take them out the car, place seat in shopping cart.  You get what you need, put back in car, etc.  Also you can no longer just pick up and do stuff last minute, because you want to ensure that you have a sitter.  So if your life drastically changes like this, why become a mother you may ask.  Because it gives a type of joy that you cannot describe.  The unconditional love that a child gives is the most beautiful thing on Earth.  Which is why you would do any and everything for your child.  This leads to lots of households having to operate with two incomes in order to survive.

When you’re a working mom, after you punch out after your scheduled work day, you have to go home and punch the clock for another full time job that you are not even monetarily compensated for.  This is a job where you are always on call, and have no off days per se.  Your job as a mom when you come home after a long day of work is to tend to the household as well as to the children.  In most cases, even if a working mother is bringing home at least half of the monthly income, she is still doing more than half of the household work.  Where does the mom get this super human strength from you may ask?  Even I don’t have an answer for this.  For a mother to go to work and still come home and do more work is pretty amazing to me.  But if you know you gotta do what you gotta do, then you can rise above anything and really deliver.  You find that inner strength and pull from that.

When you become a parent, you always have a vision of how you’d like to raise your children.  You want them to have better than you.  You want them to be successful and not have to have any struggles that you may have had.  That’s why you place so much pressure on yourself to make sure your children are given the best opportunity to succeed.  But sometimes in the process, you need to take a   moment for yourself as a parent.  Moms, especially working ones, shoulder a lot of the heavy lifting.  You have to nurture as well as financially provide.  Often times, you may feel it goes unnoticed.  But just know that deep down, you are appreciated.  You may not find out until an essay or a speech, but know that it is there.  But for children and spouses/partners of these women, please acknowledge them without being prompted.  So just pick a random day to show appreciation that isn’t Mother’s Day, or your mom’s birthday.  After all, working moms, you’re the real MVP.