BACHELOR OF ARTS DEGREE IN MOTHERHOOD

Many people dream when they’re young of what they want to be when they grow up. It’s a common question asked to children and teenagers. Honestly, I always knew that when I grew up I wanted to be a mom. There’s nothing I’ve ever wanted more in my life than to be a mother. I never really knew what career path I wanted and it was hard for me to decide a college major. Why don’t they have a bachelor of arts degree in “Motherhood” anyway? If there was, I would have chosen that without a doubt. But I chose Elementary Education because since I loved kids, it seemed like the right thing to do.

In high school I taught pee-wee gymnastics, was a peer mentor for children, and helped with Sunday School and Bible School at my church. In college, all my studies were centered around children and I participated every semester in “field experiences.” After student teaching and graduating from college, I moved to Chicago and was a nanny for two children for over 2 years. When we moved to back to Minnesota, I worked at a preschool/daycare for three years. So you can see that everything I’ve done for most of my life, has centered around children.

My involvement with children proved to make it difficult in our quest for a child of our own. After 3 years of working at the preschool, with two of those years being years of our infertility, it was becoming hard to go to work everyday with everything I was doing being centered around children. It was inconvenient to take time off work to attend doctor appointments. So, I decided to leave my job to focus on “me” and try to not be stressed like everyone suggested.

I’m extremely thankful for all my experiences with children. And especially at the preschool/daycare with the younger children. I learned more there than I did in my years at college! I know it’s helped me gain perspective, ideas, and appreciation. And I know deep down I’ll be able to put it to use with my own children someday…