Happy Mother's Day

Today is Mother’s Day, and I wanted to use this space to tell my wife THANK YOU.

My wife is a SAHM (stay at home mom) at this point. We made the decision before the kids were born that we wanted her to be able to stay home with them, until they were at least five years old or so. We are VERY lucky to be able to be in a position where that is possible. That being said, I think her job is one of the hardest on the planet.

Raising children the right way is no easy task. Believe me, I’ve seen enough kids where TV is their babysitter, they eat crap, run wild and act like little bastards. That’s not so with my kids. They know how to behave in a restaurant, they don’t run wild, they eat healthy, they are respectful, speak well, and they are intelligent, caring children. It’s not like they are angels all the time, they do have their moments, all kids do, but mine are almost always a joy to be around. I can attribute that directly to how wonderful of a mother my wife is.

You see, my wife treats being a mother as her job. And it’s a job she loves. The enthusiasm she has for the kids and everything they do has molded them into wonderful human beings. My five year old (who missed the cut-off to go into kindergarten this past year because of her birthday) already knows everything they test for through the end of first grade. She’s reading at a level of kids years older than her. It’s amazing really. This can all be traced to the fact that my wife works with both girls on schoolwork all the time. They love it, and absorb it like a sponge. It’s gone so well that for at least the next year or two, my wife will actually be homeschooling our children. Something that I couldn’t be more confident about at this point.

The fact that my wife ran a daycare center, taught private kindergarten and has a Master’s in language education pretty much makes this a no-brainer. The kids respond to her, and not just academically. They are interested in being creative with artwork, they enjoy learning about animals, nature and how things work. I’ve even had pretty deep philisophical discussions with my eldest about things like evolution, the galaxy and what different cultures believe or don’t believe religiously. I never thought that I would be having those conversations with her when she was five years old.

My girls are turning into beautiful little people with such an awareness for the world. I love them dearly, and they mean everything to me. When I got married nearly twelve years ago, I wasn’t sure I even wanted kids. My wife always did, and I knew that by marrying her, I would someday have them. She convinced me, and I couldn’t be happier with the decisions. My children are a gift, and one that couldn’t be possible without my wonderful wife.

I know I spent a lot of time in here bragging on my kids in a Mother’s Day post. But to understand how simply awesome my wife is as a Mother, you had to know what the products of her hard work are. I have the best wife, who just happens to be the best mother I know. I love you Jen, enjoy your day. And thank you, again, for doing the hardest job I know.