I did not become a mom to get recognition.

I know you didn’t either.  

We did not decide to have children so we could get noticed, appreciated or recognized for everything we do.

But, you know how, if someone says, “You look pretty today!”, that makes you feel good?

Or…if someone says, “I like the way you painted your house!”, it makes you feel proud, right?

How about…if someone mentions that your soup for the potluck is “delicious!”?  It makes you smile, doesn’t it?

But if you think about it, it’s pretty rare that we moms get compliments about how we parent…or that we give compliments about how we parent.

It’s rare we’re told, “Good Job!”

People tell us how nice our kids are, but they don’t often say, “I noticed how, when your daughter complained and whined about having to leave, you didn’t give in.  Good job!”

We don’t hear, “I noticed that when your son was begging for candy just now, that you held firm to your “no”.

We don’t hear, “I admire your parenting.  You are teaching your kids manners and not many kids have great manners these days.”

No.

We didn’t get into parenting for the recognition.

But, wow.  Doesn’t it feel nice sometimes?

Doesn’t it feel good if someone notices how much work you put in to and for your kids on a daily basis?

Doesn’t it feel good if someone notices that you made the hard decision to discipline your kids when it would have been WAY easier to just sweep the infraction under the rug?

Doesn’t it feel good if someone says they think your kids are great because of the way you are parenting?

It does!  I’ve seen it!

I’ve seen it when I hand out “Good Job Mom” cards.  

– There was the time in the coffee shop when I gave a card to the mom of the restless 3 year old, because she calmly kept getting up and bringing him back from the door.

– There was the time in the Urgent Care when the mom carried her sobbing young daughter out, softly consoling her about refusing to have her throat swabbed…and carrying her back in ten minutes later, both laughing, to tell the nurse her daughter was now ready to have her throat swabbed.  They went in, took care of business and came out.  No tears.  Just smiles.  The mom smiled and thanked me when I gave her a card, and said, “No one’s ever given me anything like this before!”

– There was the preschool teacher who gave a card to a single mom of three kids who “was in a rough situation.”  The mom cried when she received the card.  She needed that.

“Good Job Mom” cards recognize moms!

 We moms can all agree.  We are under-recognized.

We can also agree that we do not need recognition to do what we do.

But, it sure feels good to get recognized every once in a while!!

So….today…

1.  Notice a mom doing something you admire.

2.  Tell her good job.

3.  Feel good about yourself.

You’ll both be happy you did.

Good Job Mom,

Lindsey