Supermom

In Season Five, Episode Five of the TV show "Yes, Dear", the character Kim is portrayed as Supermom. She bakes individualized cookies for her child's preschool class, attends the PTA meetings, organizes field trips, keeps her house clean, and looks good doing it. During the show, her husband Greg comes home to tell her that yet another one of his assistants at work has quit and he doesn't know why. Kim's sister Christine, a recent college graduate, is looking for employment, so Greg hires her to be his assistant, partly to find out why the other assistants keep quitting, if it's something he's doing that's making them leave. We come to find out that the reason all the assistants are leaving isn't because of Greg, it's because of Kim, his wife, who keeps having his assistants, now Christine her sister, do her Supermom jobs--make flyers, organize field trips, pick up the dry cleaning, etc. We find out that Kim is not Supermom after all because she doesn't do all the work by herself.

What is a Supermom?  I always thought of someone as being Supermom who seems to be in control of herself all the time, very patient with her children, always looks good, has time to develop her talents, and is active in various social committees, whether that be on PTA or something else through church and community.  Someone who is very, very busy but seems to keep her cool.

Then somebody called me Supermom.  My husband came home from work and told me that one of his employees, someone who has watched our kids overnight before, thinks of me as Supermom.  Flattered though I was, I felt I hardly qualify for Supermom status.  I stay home and take care of kids. Occasionally, I do something really brilliant (in my mind anyway) like baking a cool birthday cake or sewing a dress or tweaking some recipe to make it better.  Mostly, though, I just hang out at home, trying to sludge my way through an ordinary day with a fussy baby who doesn't know what he wants (therefore I don't either), two preschoolers who don't want to play either outside or inside and are always hungry but never want to eat the food I give them, and two school-age kids who have bad attitudes and don't want to obey.  By bedtime, I'm ready to run screaming down the street most days.

I started thinking about this concept of "Supermom".  I decided that all of us moms who try our best to do our job are Supermom.  If I can qualify for Supermom status just because I take care of five kids and barely make it through most days then all other moms qualify for Supermom status too. 

All the moms I know are doing their best to teach their kids to make good choices. They want their children to develop talents and give them opportunities to do so. They try to stay involved with their child's education, whether they just keep up with what their child is doing in school, sign up to be PTA president, or home school their child. Many of them are involved with community service or service opportunities through church. The moms I know get up and get ready for the day. Some of them also balance careers with being a mom. Some of them are single moms and have a lot to deal with and worry about. The moms I know work hard at keeping their homes beautiful. They are always looking for better ways to do things, whether it be cooking, cleaning, or helping their child learn. The moms I know also take time to develop their talents and utilize those talents to empower them as parents. The moms I know do an awesome job.

We are all Supermom.