STOP SAYING YOU’RE “JUST A MOM”!

Yesterday at our second Interim Study on the Common Core at the state Capitol, I met the sweetest lady.  We had been wondering about this gorgeous woman sitting in the corner (we usually have a clue who most of the people are, or are at least attached to, at these things), when she came up to us at a break and introduced herself.

She told us she was “Just a mom” who had been following our emails and was becoming more and more concerned about Common Core and didn’t want her small (and quite excellent) school from becoming eaten by the Common Core blob.  She was exceptionally literate and had the intestinal fortitude and presence to introduce herself to people she didn’t know because of a concern she had about the future of her children.

Does that sound like “Just a mom” to you?

What is it that has made us women –

women by the way who cook, clean, garden, help with homework, drag kids to every game, practice and recital known to human kind, sometimes work a second job (notice I said SECONDARY to MOTHERHOOD job), drag screaming kids out of theaters and restaurants, clean vomit off of floors and beds, schedule doctor, dentist and specialist appointments, wipe snot, stop the car on the shoulder of the highway to referee fights, talk to a teacher on the phone about a child while simultaneously navigating dinner and overseeing homework, vacuum, grocery shop, shop for clothes (normally having to not only clothe children but spouse as well), make sure everyone’s band instrument is in working order and is ready to go to band, go back home to pick up the forgotten instrument, make sure everyone has their lunch before they get out of the house, come back home to pick up the lunch someone has forgotten, book tickets for the whole family to the one kids performance at the Thunder game, try and remember to juggle all family birthdays so no one is left out…

think we were JUST anything!

For Pete sakes, most women do the job of 10 men in any single given day.  Some women also have children with disabilities, adding an order of magnitude of difficulty to one already in the order of base 10 (I’m thinking of 10 to the 100th power!).

In fact, my husband tells me regularly that it irritates him daily that I work hard enough to earn a 6 figure salary but never really get paid a dime.

What made me think I was more than “JUST a mom”?  I don’t know, I was probably just born feisty – I usually say that when I was born and the doctor spanked me to get me to cry I hit him back!  But in all honesty, I have regular mom duties that I have to add in to my Supermom-Activist activities and still and all, I seem to get most things (not cleaning, but most of the other important things) done in a day.

I am a mom and I am PROUD of that term – I LOVE being a mom (most days!).  I love the job and love the kids enough to FIGHT for them and so that is just what I do.  I don’t think about it or ruminate on whether I’m QUALIFIED to fight for them, I’m already QUALIFIED because I’m their mother.  God gave those kids to me and it’s MY job to mother them and raise them up in the “nurture and admonition of the Lord” to be kind, intelligent, wise, servants of the Lord.  Who else holds that edict FOR me?  No one!  Consequently, I am EMINENTLY qualified to take on the job of mothering which also includes PROTECTION of my children from anything I SEE as a threat – and I SEE Common Core as a THREAT to their intellect and way of life.  Therefore, I will fight for my kids against Common Core because I am QUALIFIED to do so!

For some reason, women have let people – from all walks of life – but particularly Superintendents, Principals, teachers and legislators – think we are not smart enough to engage in the learning of our children.  We needn’t be consulted on the ways and methods our children are being taught – we’ve got better things to do.

THIS MUST STOP!  WE ARE NOT ‘JUST’ MOTHERS!  It is time for ALL MOMS to stand up and realize that we do more work than 20 people in one day and we can CERTAINLY find time to also comprehend and engage in the education of our children!  It is time – HIGH time – that we started realizing that WE and WE ALONE have the power to effect change in our communities, states and nation – for and on behalf of our children – if for no other reason.

We are QUALIFIED to FIGHT for our children and we will do so – no matter WHAT anyone says!  And the crowd all said, “Amen”!

PS:  And if you’d like a LIST that gives you just a few MOMS that are involved in trying to stop Common Core, let me just give you a start right here:

Yvonne Gasperino from Stop Common Core New York
Alisa Ellis, Renee Brady and Christel Swasey from What is Common Core
Christy Hooley from Stop Common Core in Wyoming
Joy Pullman (working mom AND Common Core Fighter) from the Heartland Institute
Kristin George of Kansans Against Common Core
Heidi Huber of Ohioans Against Common Core
Heather Crossin and Erin Tuttle from Indiana – Hoosiers Against Common Core
Stephanie Zimmerman of Idahoans Against Common Core and Idahoans For Local Education

In fact, there are COUNTLESS pages of Stop Common Core – fill in the state – on Facebook.  I’ll bet you 10 to 1 there’s a MOM at the center of EACH!