Lessons from a 3-Year-Old in a Chic-fil-A Parking Lot
We were driving away from Chic-fil-A the other day as I handed Beckett his kids meal toy. It was a pouch with a Park Ranger badge and a bunch of cards with wildlife facts on them inside. He got really curious and began to ask me questions about being a park ranger. As I explained it further to him, he became infatuated with how amazing of a job it would be. I looked at him and told him, “Buddy, you would make an amazing park ranger.” Without missing a beat my boy looked back at me and said, “Mom, I can’t be a park ranger. I’m going to be a paleontologist.” For a second I paused, collected my thoughts, and then I turned so I could look him straight in the eyes. I wanted to be sure he heard what I was about to tell him.
“Beckett,” I said, “You are allowed to be more than one thing.”
Fast forward two days and I am gathered with my friends on a couch during a girls night, when the conversation journies to our life before kids. We began talking about the things that we were pursuing and the accomplishments that we attained before becoming mothers. A general consensus was reached when it was stated, “I’m glad I got to do those things before becoming a mom.”
It was a great conversation, and an honest conversation, and it was a conversation I was glad to be a part of. But I got to thinking afterwards… Why did the tone of the conversation feel like the time to accomplish great things is now behind us? Why was it so easy to accept the idea that now that we’re mothers, and we’re raising beautiful little humans, that this is all we do now?
Y’all. I’m here to tell you, that just like my three-year-old,
YOU ARE ALLOWED TO BE MORE THAN ONE THING.
Becoming a mother does not mean the end of our individual pursuits. Sure, it’s the beginning of the greatest role we’ll ever have: raising the next generation, but we have to remember that there is more to us than just being a mom. There is still so much we are capable of accomplishing. Let’s not allow ourselves to have “mother” be the only line on our resume. There is so much more to us. Yes, we are mothers, but we are also wives, and women, and individuals. We have our own passions and our own dreams. Don’t forget about them. Motherhood is not a handicap, it’s a superpower. Let’s not misjudge just how much we are capable of, and put those powers to good use.