| Connie Neal |
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Valuing a Mother’s Work? by Connie Neal April 2012 “Ann Romney never worked a day in her life”, really? I – like other mothers who heard that statement – I reflected on the comparative value of a mother’s work in the home. Like Ann Romney, my children are adults, but such comments elicit a response. While attending a conference on technology and the web, a speaker, quoted Gary Vaynerchuk. Gary is a consultant and leading voice on using online social media to build your business. The conference speaker recounted how Gary was complaining of business leaders demanding to know the ROI (Return on Investment) of using social media. To which he replied – with a few expletives I’ll leave out – “What’s the ROI?” “What’s the ROI?” “What’s the ROI of your mother? I don’t have data to show you the ROI of Tamara Vaynerchuk. But I can sit firmly here and tell you it’s everything. It’s the whole game, because without the way my mom raised me I’d be a clown.” Wow! That put my reflections on life – past and future – in fresh light. Here is strong encouragement for every mother who struggles with daily decisions about where to invest her time, attention, talent, energy, creativity, and love. And what mother doesn’t? Tremendous social undercurrents continually exert force that would sweep us away from devoting ourselves to raising our children well. It’s like being in the ocean and having to plant your feet firmly in the sand to resist the pull of the undercurrent that has the power to sweep you away. What’s the ROI of taking our kids to the park, swinging with them on our lap, playing dress-up, having a tea party? What’s the ROI of building a Batmobile for the pre-school parade? Or of not waiting a minute to change a dirty diaper or staying up all night rocking a sick child while softly singing a lullaby no one else will hear? Or of teaching them that God loves them or cooking a meal that is nutritious (but creatively hides vegetables they have yet to learn to enjoy)? Or of setting limits for a resistant teen, or making sure they have clean clothes; or of praying for them or of just being there? And on and on it goes. You can’t figure out the return on investment on any of those things. In the middle of a rough week-- when you’re thinking with a twinge of envy of a friend whose high-paying career let’s her escape the frustration you’re feeling – it’s easy to.... |