When Is a Mother's Work Done?

I've had this idea banging around in my head the last two days, and today a friend's wonderful blog entry convicted me to (1) write down my idea and (2) follow it (much harder than the writing part).

When is a mother's work done?

Is it when she gets everyone up and dressed and fed and half-way decent looking in the morning?

Is is when she disciplines without losing her patience when one child practices being Mike Tyson on a sibling?

Is it when she finally masters the art of crock-pot dishes that taste delicious or masters grocery shopping for 5 under $100?

Is it when her child finally initiates saying grace on his own after weeks of coercion and reminders?

Is it when she repairs injuries with a kiss or when she scrubs the child, walls, floor, and potty after a potty training experiment gone totally wrong with a smile?

Is it when she sends them to kindergarten?  High school?  College?  Their first home with a spouse?

No, a mother's work is only "done" when she ceases to see it as work and begins to see it as acts of love.

In response to Cynthia's challenge, here are 7 things I've done RIGHT this week . . .

1) I have tried to pray the rosary again daily . . . got at least a decade on most days and two full rosaries.

2) I've spent less time on the computer while the kids are awake and more time inventing activities for the three of us.

3) I've put together healthy meals for my family, including working at a potato salad recipe (my husband's favorite) until it was perfect.

[this is hard . . . ]

4)  I chose not to gossip and complain on several occasions when my husband got home from work.

5) I chose to welcome a little boy in our neighborhood to play with us, even though he drives me insane with his need for attention.

6) I successfully recognized when my little guy needed love and attention on several occasions (instead of just seeing his acting out to be defiance) and met that need with some extra snuggle time and book reading to calm his crankiness.

7) I did several activities with my little guy to celebrate the feast of the Assumption and to teach him about Mary (partly in hopes that she'd teach him the things about motherhood that his own mother fails to model).

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