A THANKless job

My mother always told me that being a mother is the hardest job in the world. She said that what makes it hard is the heartache that mothers experience, letting your children make their own decisions and, consequently, their own mistakes. She also said that being a mother was a "thank-less" job. I don't know that I ever really understood that. Well... until now. You see, as a mother there are some things you just never hear. For instance, "Thank you for changing my diaper dear mother", or "Thanks Mom, for making that bottle for me".

 Here are some things that I would like to hear... but I know that I never will. (until my children are parents perhaps)

 THANK YOU MOM:

 for growing me within your body for nine months.
 OR
 for letting me INVADE your body, make you HUGE, cover your body in red and purple marks, and then put you through HOURS of AGONIZING pain and suffering until you finally gave one last push and gifted the world with my glorious presence.

 for breastfeeding me.
 OR
 for allowing me to experience this wonderful time of bonding with you as we struggled and struggled for weeks on end to learn how to latch and when to latch. As we cried together... wasn't that nice??? You with your bleeding and cracked nipples and engorged breasts and I with my empty stomach DEMANDING that you give me EVERY LAST DROP of your sanity and energy... wasn't that something?

 for changing my diapers.
OR
 for calmly and lovingly changing my wet and soiled diapers. For never getting angry with me when I peed through that beautiful little outfit that you put together... for pooping through onto and staining that little dress that you spent all of that money on... for pooping on your hand and peeing on your face. For EXPLODING in my pants so that you have to cut the outfit off of me in order to prevent any toxic poisons from getting into my eyes.

 for giving me my bottle.
OR
 for lovingly putting the 37.5 different pieces together (for ONE bottle) filling it with the appropriate amount of water (that's just the right temperature) and the perfect amount of formula... just so that I can suck it down, while it drips all over my face and clothes, within two minutes. Then you can take apart that 37.5 piece bottle, wash it all up for me, dry it and put it away just in time for me to spit up all of the contents of said bottle onto myself, my clothing, your carpet and furniture, and you.

 for rocking me to sleep.
 OR
 for rocking me to sleep because for five hours I REFUSED to be put in my crib like some animal being dragged to the slaughter! What kind of person really lays their baby down and expects to be able to walk away just like that huh?!!! So I would appreciate very much if you would just march right back in here, pick me up, and rock me while I try to pull your hair, snatch your earrings, break your necklace, and puke on your shirt. AND if you don't come back in here... well I'll just scream my little head off until you feel so bad that you're questioning the very decency of your mothering.

 for nursing me back to health.
OR
 for letting me wipe my snotty nose on your shirt when I just COULDN'T seem to find anything else to wipe it on... for FORCING that fever reducing pain medicine into me when I SWEAR you were trying to kill me with that stuff!!! I know that you had to sit on me while pinning my arms to my sides and squeezing my cheeks so that my mouth stayed open and you even had to plug my nose so that I would swallow... you torturous being you! ... for staying up with me until allll hours of the wee morning while I vomited, coughed, hacked, wheezed, pooped, and moaned... for cleaning all of that up too.

 Yes, appreciation would be nice would it not? Instead I hear this one, "Where's my daddy? ... I want my daddy... You're mean! When is Daddy coming home? ... No not you! Daddy!!! ... Don't be mean to me Mommy!!!" These all sound funny, and in retrospect they really are. But right now it's like a dagger in the heart. If only you could say... "I DO ALL OF THIS FOR YOU, YOU KNOW!!!" I'm not trying to be mean, or torture you, or kill you, or hurt you, or any terrible thing like that. I am just trying to take care of you! SO JUST SAY THANK YOU AND GET ON WITH IT!!!

 To my mother:
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.