If Your Middle Name Isn't Corny - This May Not Be For You!

I have always wanted to be a parent – I love children, and I know I am not meant to be a teacher (I don’t have the patience needed to teach thirty-two ten year olds about photosynthesis so please do not suggest I become a teacher!), so being a parent seems to be the only hands on option available to me. While I may coach gymnastics, and love it, it’s not the same, even without a true understanding of what parenthood is I know it’s not even close to the same thing as raising your child….

The other competitive coaches at the gym tease me about the fact that I always have extra snacks in case one of the gymnasts forgets to bring something to eat. I’ll have pepper slices, granola bars, extra carrots stashed in my lunch bag ready for distribution when called upon. (And having that extra food has come in handy many times) That doesn’t stop Em and Marie from teasing me though and calling me the “little gym mom”.

On numerous occasions I have found myself in conversations about children in corporate networking circles. Gen Y’ers are genuinely interested in what their cohorts hobbies are, what their 5 year plan looks like, who wants to have kids, who never wants to have kids…so on and so forth. Because I have on numerous occasions been asked about my plans to have children I have put some considerable effort into understanding why I want to raise a child.

And here it is….

I want to be a mom because I think the best gift I can give to the world is to be a contentious citizen, who protects the environment, who challenges their government to be socially responsible, who protects those who can not protect themselves and raise others to do the same. Hilary Clinton talks about it, Up With People used to sing about it…it takes a village to raise a child. So I do my best to help my friends, family members, anyone I see struggling raise their child and someday I hope to raise my own child to be a good citizen who gives back all the kindness and love they’re afforded with. It's one of the best things I can think to do, bring kind, hard-working, dedicated citizens into this world, it's the least I can do....