I was reading an article the other day, maybe online, maybe in a magazine, I can't remember. But the article was about moms, especially new moms, needing to get away from the baby for awhile by going to work or out with friends. Now I'm all for mothers who want to work, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with hanging out with your friends. But the article mentioned that a woman should do this so as not to lose her own identity; not to become known only as 'so and so's mom.'

I got to thinking, "Is that so wrong?" What if I want to be known as 'Everett's mom?' Have I lost my own identity? I sure have, and I've gained a whole new and better one in its place! What a redeeming quality it is to be a mother. No matter what I've done in the past in relationships, jobs, even done TO myself, none of that mattered once I had a baby. I used to think about what I could do with my life, always in relation to how people would remember me. Now all I care about is how my son will remember me. Do I care if my name is ever on the marquee? Will I get to meet the President, or dine in the White House, stay in the Lincoln Bedroom? Most likely the answer is no. But if I do my job, the one important job God has given me, then my son will think I'm a star. He'll say "Yeah, my mom, she's awesome..."

It's sad to think that women who have children, planned or unplanned, feel the need to keep themselves separate from their child. Now obviously, smothering isn't a good idea, either, and I'm not saying to hover over them or chew their food for them. But women will throw themselves wholeheartedly into a career; why is motherhood so looked down on as a career? Why is raising a child not nearly as important as making a load of money for some big company? The truth is that nothing is more important than your child. I believe it is 20th century brainwashing that leads women to think they must have a career in order to define themselves. I say devote all your time to your child. Everett will be grown up and moved away soon enough. Too soon. When he no longer needs me so much, maybe I will go back to college. There's plenty of time, time enough to reinvent myself again. I don't feel that anything is lost, or even put on hold. Who cares about that stuff when I have this beautiful son to fill my days?!

Am I old fashioned? Is this an epidemic in our world? If I'd known how wonderful being a mother is, I would have thrown my identity out the window myself. Tara, you say? She no longer exists. I'm Everett's mom now. And that's fine with me.