Mother's Day

I read a stat the other day. It said that stay at home moms would be worth approximately $117,000 if they were paid according to market demand.

I think my mom would be worth more than that.

Not just because she's my mom, but with me as her kid, you'd have to tack on a nurse's salary, too, which would put her earning power at more than $200,000, probably (beating my dad--sorry dad!).

My parents have split the Emily duties--Dad usually does the ER runs, the surgery runs, the let's go out of town and visit doctors who know nothing runs. He also Handles the Insurance Company (that's a biggie). Mom does the day to day Children's stuff, the meds, makes appointments, takes me to appointments, and does fun stuff like wash my hair, flush my port, change burn dressings, etc., etc., etc. That's a lot of work. Trust me. And we've had to be fairly inventive as the years have gone on. Washing hair with a PICC, for example, is different than washing hair with an accessed port.

Somehow in the midst of all this fun, Bryan and Mel also got raised and fed and taken to soccer, football, marching band, tennis, etc., etc., etc. I had voice lessons and dance classes and choir rehearsals. Meals got made and Christmas presents bought (Mom is, without a doubt, the Champion Christmas Shopper of the World. She is just awesome.). School projects got done, including counting pieces of litter in Blacklick Woods for a 5th grade "cluster" project. We went prom dress shopping and headed to hair appointments.

When people talk about "working mothers," they're usually leaving my mom, and all the other Stay and Home Moms, out. This irritates me. My mom certainly works, and works hard!! She's worked the equivalent of two jobs for, oh, 26 years now. That's not easy. And there's no paycheck, no reward banquets, no bonuses, not even cool lunches at fancy places with The Boss. If Mom had worked at a "real" job, then I have no idea what would've happened to me (or the rest of us). Part of successful CF and post-tx care is having a strong support system. In the weeks after tx, we were at The Resort almost every day. I couldn't drive for three months, and Dad had to work. What were we supposed to do? So mom took me and hung out in waiting rooms while I did PT and OT and all that good stuff. It takes time to learn to change dressings, access ports, and make sure all the meds are going right. I was sort of half there, what with all my drug interactions and such. Someone needed to take charge. And that was mom.

I would put up a pic of mom, but she's picky about that, so I'll just say we look alike. :) That should give you an idea.
Happy Mother's Day!