​What Talents Are You Wasting Just Being a Mom?

We’ve discussed in What’s in It for Me, that motherhood is a road to self-denial.
We showed that you don’t have to give up an education or waste your education to be a mom. In fact, you learn a whole lot in What Have I Learned as a Mom?
This week we want to look at the talents it takes to be a mom.
The world wants you to feel like a second-class citizen or even the poorest of the poor because “all you do” is “be a mom.”
Some would even say it doesn’t take much to be a mom.
Let’s look at some of the talents that you develop as a mom.
You will notice some aren’t necessarily a skill but a discipline or a habit.

I can make soap rather than wash my money down the drain.
I can make dinner well enough for my boys to say, “Thanks, that was good.”
I can decorate a cake good enough for a three-year old to say, “Wow! Mom, that’s great!”
I can plant a garden, and watch squash grow, sometimes.
I can preserve the extra vegetables by freezing, canning or drying.
I can juggle ten different schedules to make sure everyone is where they should be on time.
I can water geraniums so they grow, but know other things take more care than just water.
I can nurse a little boy’s pain away by distraction unless it’s a break, then I must have help.
I can make a nightmare not so scary.
I can make a tornado-swept-house look clean before Dad gets home.
I can wash at least three loads of laundry every day for 25 years without exception, except when the washer and dryer isn’t working.
I can record memories for my children to learn by.
I can make time to smell the roses and get pricked by them.
I can overplan for any camping outing.
I can carry everything we need in a diaper bag.
I can remember the neighbors at Christmastime.
I can teach my boys to say “Please,” and “Thank you,” not “What?” and “Yeah.”
I can teach my boys to swim from a seat on the shore.
I can play the piano so my boys can learn to sing.
I can paint better than I thought but not as good as I want.
I can make animal pens, but not always fool-proof, dog-proof, or pest-proof.
I can drive where my sons need to be, but always pray for parking.
I must win when disciplining children or playing chess.
I can gather free rocks for our own landscaping.
I can tell what will go wrong with a project, but cheer you till you finish it.
I can feel the spirit of the words, not just the meaning of them.
I can do what it takes to get the job done, somehow, someway.
I can referee a fight.

But what I can’t do is iron.
I can’t do windows.
I can’t remodel everything, but I can demolish a lot.
I can’t measure two times and cut once and be accurate.
I can’t cut straight with scissors, saw or knife.
I can’t allow my sons to lie to me.
I can’t fix wheels: wagons, bikes, cars, or trucks. But SLIME can do a lot.
I can’t make fences up to my boys’ standards, but I can use lattice to keep the cow out until they can.
I can’t fix computers, phones, i-pads, let alone use them properly.
I don’t want to shout to the world, but I will shout for my kids.
I can’t sleep on command, but I can waken on call.
I can’t wear a watch without it stopping.
I can’t make Martha Steward meals, but I can feed my boys.
I can’t quilt or sew, but I know someone who can.
I can’t throw out junk, but I can make it useful.
I can’t weld, but I know how to use duct tape.
I can’t catch my son’s fast balls, but I can cheer him on.
I can’t shoot, but I can listen while they talk about it.
I can’t stop my sons from being boys, but I can help them to be men.

I’m not sure what “talents” people are referring to when they say that moms are wasting theirs. Or not developing theirs. Or not pursuing theirs.
I’ve always found that what I can do, regardless of what it is, is never enough for the job.
Those things I can’t do force me to depend upon God.
Isn’t that where we should be?

A similar article, with a more complete listing of "Talents" can be found here.

I write about what matters...to you---
women, wives and moms---
about your family, faith and future.
I write about what's hard, what helps and what heals.
I show you how it's done. And not done.
I hold your hand as you find what matters to the Savior.
And let go of those things that mattered to you, but not to Him.
I write about what matters...to Him.
               Sonya Contreras

Motherhood
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Are You Tired of the Same, Old Thing?
Who's Responsible for the Children
The Battle for Our Children
​Dear Master of Hands
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Reflections from a Mom
Just the Mother-In-Law
A Mom Who Knew Her Job
Letting Go of my Fourth Son
Making a House a Home
How Do I Pray?
Picking up Acorns
Changed by God
Last Times
Are You a Failure?
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Are You Tired of the Same Old Thing?
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Confessions of a Desperate Mom
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Homeschooling Myths Debunked
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What Have I Learned as a Mom?
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