Recently after leaving a gathering of friends and family, the following conversation took place with my five-year-old:
Keilyn: “Mommy, why do all these people in this entire city call you Tiffany?”
Me & Micah: “Because that is my/her name.”
Keilyn: “No! Your name is Mommy!! Mommy, it starts with a M like Micah! You’re not Tiffany.”
Micah: “Yes, Tiffany is her name.”
Keilyn: “Fine! Tiffany is her second nam, but Mommy is her first important name.”
After this exchange, I began thinking. What a simple statement from a very independent five-year-old. In her world, I am Mommy. I am the one who provides for her and her brother, the one who loves her daddy and who corrects her when she is wrong. To all of these other people in our lives, grandparents, aunts, uncles, friends — I am Tiffany; but in Keilyn’s eyes they all should call me Mommy.
This is why Mommy is the most important name I will ever be called. First, I am lucky enough to be a mommy. To have two kids who love me whom I am able to care for.
I am able to teach these two little people how to live their life, and I can teach them about anything I want! I hope I will teach them how to care and love for people, how to show empathy, and how to be a positive role model to people in the future. Of course brushing their teeth, regular bathing, and knowing their ABCs are important too, but I hope when they are older they will have learned more than that.
As Mommy, I get to relive my most favorite memories of my childhood. Hello blanket forts, s’mores, and Disney movies! I get to see the excitement in my kids’ eyes when they experience all of this for the first time and the awe on their faces of, “My Mommy did this when she was a little girl. WAIT, you were a little girl?!”
There is a lot of power that comes with being Mommy. We get to make easy and hard decisions for our children. We raise them with the hope and prayers that they will learn how to make smart and safe decisions. We direct their path by choosing their school, extracurricular activities and sometimes even their friends. We are responsible for who these tiny humans grow into. It’s been an exciting, inspiring, and terrifying journey so far. We all hear “Mommy” a few hundred times a day some days; just remember they are calling out for us! They want and need our love, attention and help with whatever new problem they are facing. So let’s remember Mommies: we are strong, inspiring women who have little eyes on us all the time. In the hustle and bustle of life, let’s stop and just be Mommy sometimes.
The #1 reason that Mommy is the most important name I will ever have: my two MOST FAVORITE people in the whole world gave it to me!
