Super Mom

I'm a little late in starting my Mother's Day week.  I've been thinking so hard, over so many things, that I just couldn't begin to get it all straight.  And it all centers on mother.  Super Mom, to be precise.

 I've been reading articles that plead with mothers to avoid getting caught in the "Super Mom" trap of thinking that they can "do it all."  It just leads to guilt and depression, they say.

I beg to differ.  The problem is not in "Super Mom."  The problem lies in our definitions, and what we do with the terms.  According to the World English Dictionary, a superhero is

 any of various comic-strip characters with superhuman abilities or magical powers, wearing a distinctive costume and fighting against evil

As much as I would love to see mothers dressed up in superhero costumes (maybe I'll do that sometime!), I have to admit that a mother does not fit that definition.  Not exactly.  But sometimes mothers do things which definitely seem superhuman.  The abilities of a mother can seem magical at times.  And I have absolutely seen mothers fight against evil.  So maybe a mom can be a supermom, after all.

In contrast, a regular hero is defined by dictionary.com as a person of

distinguished courage or ability, admired for brave deeds and noble qualities

Mom, mom, mom, and yes mom.  Mothers never end up on the list of regularly admired heroes, except around Mother's Day.  And the mothers so venerated usually shrink from the praise and even use it to heap guilt and discouragement on themselves.

Why?

I have indeed been guilty of the "I'm not good enough" guilt and the "I'll never be that good" discouragement. Last year, I wrote about Mother's Day being a day to honor motherhood, instead of individual mothers.  This year, I want to make a case for SuperMom. I like it better as one word.  It needs a booming announcer that way.

Stay tuned for more exciting adventures of SuperMom!