mama believer

I was once told by my mother that I have a great aunt who said she always thought I would do more with my life. I admit that stung a little - especially coming from someone who never married or had children. I'm proud of being a mother. I'm proud that I'm able to spend so much time with my children while they still want me to - and even when they don't and will thank me later for it. Not every mother has the opportunity to stay home with their children. I know I'm blessed. And no matter how much we struggle sometimes, there is nothing else I'd rather do more than this.

That being said, I do often think about what I might have done with my life had I not become a mother. I mean, I do have other talents. I have these little dreams of things I'd like to do someday. Maybe I will go through with it sometime - maybe I won't.

I know if I had no children at all, I would have made a fantastic detective. I love research, detail, and solving problems. I do have a talent for finding out things I was never supposed to know. But I know that's a full time job and then some. I just don't think I could put my heart into both detective work and motherhood. Motherhood wins on this one - hands down.

Recently, Mr. Romance and I have discussed things I might do with some of my time while all of the children are in school. While he's fully supportive of me just being home, he is also very supportive of me following my dreams. We'll see just how much time we have when this day comes. And if their childhood isn't the right time for these things, there's always the years after they graduate.

While I know the things I've done - such as radio, television, photography, writing, etc... there are other things I'd love to do that I haven't tried yet.

Some of the things I've considered are as follows:

Hair Stylist. I have always had a lot of pride in how my hair looks. I've always had bold edgy looks that are sometimes trendsetting. I'm not afraid of the scissors. I'm not afraid to go long or short. I love to color my hair. I love to think about new haircuts. I spend a lot of time thinking about hair. So I'm considering going to beauty school and turn this love for hair into a career. I know there would be so much more for me to learn, but my heart would be in it.

Baker/Cake Decorator. This isn't exactly something I thought of on my own. My grandmother used to bake and decorate cakes for weddings, parties, and other events. She was really really good at it and was able to bring in extra money from doing this. Seeing my love for baking, my mom actually suggested that I give it a try and told me that she thought I'd be pretty good at it. While I do love love love to bake, I'm just not sure about this one as a career. I would love to take some cake decorating classes and give it a try anyway.

Cook. I love to cook. I love to experiment with food. I love cooking for other people. I love entertaining - especially when I get to serve new food. I've visited several shops that cook up meals for people to take home, reheat and serve. They even offer classes to teach people to make these dishes and let them take home what they make. I would love to do something like that. I would also love to have my own restaurant. My chicken salad recipe is a huge hit with everyone who has ever tried it. Everyone begs for the recipe afterward. I admit, I hesitate before I give it out. Seeing how many people want it, I can't help but see dollar signs behind it if I were to sell it instead. Could I turn my chicken salad into a business venture? Maybe I could work on perfecting a few select recipes and open my own cafe.

Dancer. What?! How do I go from a stylist to a cake decorator to a cook to a.... dancer? I blame the new season of So You Think You Can Dance. Here's the deal. I can't carry a tune. I would never make it on to the show American Idol. I'm tone deaf. But one thing I've loved to do since I was a little girl is dance. Dancing is therapy for me. When I was watching the show So You Think You Can Dance tonight, I can't help but regret giving up on dance years ago. It was so natural to me and I had so much passion for it. It goes hand in hand with my need for music in my life. I feel music - and thus, dancing just flows out of me. I would love to find another dance teacher and get back into dancing. I would love to share this passion I have for dance with the world. Even after I watch the show, I find myself walking around a little more graceful. That's the dance in me, I think. Maybe someday.

While I'm sure we all have these secret dreams of things we'd like to do, I'm pretty sure there is no better job than being a parent. But I do dream about it.