Today is International Women's Day

Today is International Women’s Day.

I had no idea this day existed until I checked my Facebook Feed this morning and saw the news.  I was fortunate to read many beautiful dedications and forwards about the work that women do.  Of course, I also read some comments from disgruntled men, but that is not an area I want to venture in to at the moment.

Anyway, I started to think about the role of women in marriage and the home.

In my experience, being a primarily stay at home Mom has meant that I inherited a lot of the manual labor.  This ranges from cleaning ceilings (I call myself Leonardo DaVinci when I do this,) cleaning poop, and administering medication, to name only a few of my areas of expertise that are not highlighted on my resume, but that I am damn good at.

But this work is only a small component of a much bigger picture.

I recently read Betty Whites book, If You Ask Me, and she briefly references why she never had her own biological children (she does have step children.)  Betty explains that while she realizes many modern women would disagree, she did not believe that a woman could do both (the kids and the career,) and do them both with equal gusto.  Whether you or I believe that or not is not what I am discussing here, but I bring it up because it made me really think about the role of women, without even knowing that we had an International Women’s Day right around the corner.

So what is the role of a woman in my household? I know you are dying to know.

Let’s take a walk down memory lane, shall we?

Picture it, (yes Sofia Petrillo,) New York City, 2012. 

I leave the apartment with my jogging stroller, my son, who was not even one year old, and my three Chihuahuas.  It was raining so I had an umbrella to hold as well.  My eldest dog Ringo was just diagnosed with diabetes and I had the role of measuring his ketone level in his urine while trying to determine the correct insulin dose for him.  As I stood out in the rain, I remember laughing to myself about how ridiculous I must have looked in my gym clothes, my frizzy hair, a baby, three dogs and a ketone stick on a New York City sidewalk taking a urine sample from a Chihuahua.  I never would have imagined that as a part of my role description in my home, but there I was doing it.

I think what makes caretaking so special is that it requires humility.  It is a humbling experience for both men and women and one that most of the time, I enjoy.

 It also requires a sense of humor. 

As a Mom, or Dad, you will find yourself in some really bizarre situations and you need to keep your wits about you and hopefully grab a laugh.  I have never been more tired, or fulfilled, as taking care of my family, by my definition. 

Whatever today means to you, celebrate it.  Living this life is a gift and every day is another opportunity to smile and smell the urine.  Sorry, I mean flowers.  Smell the flowers.