Excavation

There are duties that are common to every job. Architects design buildings and write in BOLD letters. Doctors diagnose and prescribe remedies. Lawyers charge ridiculous amounts of money by the hour to think and speak and know the law better than the common citizen.

Similarly wives and mothers have common duties. Some of these duties are really just an extension of being a person. Clothes and dishes need cleaning. Food needs to be purchased and prepared. Floors need vacuuming. Beds need making. Etc. Etc. These sorts of things have little to do with motherhood, despite the amount of time mothers spend doing them. These are merely basic standard of living issues.

So, duties of motherhood. Well, there was one defining moment in Kara's childhood that comes to mind. She was not feeling well. She had a stomach ache. She had diarrhea. Then she began puking Orange Pedialyte and I caught it with my hand. Without even thinking twice. That is a duty of motherhood.

Caleb, a year ago, decided to decorate the room with the contents of his diaper. While not for the faint of heart or those with a quick gag-reflex, it was the duty of a mom to know what type of cleanser not only removes, but disinfects.

Well...today I can add to this -- excavation. No, not the type archeologists are comfortable with. No sand or dirt could compete with the excavations required in motherhood. Excavations in motherhood usually involve gross bodily secretions. This morning I calmly removed a little green rubber man and an oddly shaped rock from ... you guessed it --- the contents of Caleb's diaper! Lord only knows how long these have been in his system, but they are there no longer. What's worse --- they weren't what we were looking for in there!! We were looking for the small prongs that hold up the shelf on his bookshelf. Hopefully more excavations will be successful.

Silly me, I thought that was all of the excavating I'd do today, but no, Kara got a splinter today and still won't let me remove it from her hand. So, tomorrow the duties of motherhood shall continue ... I'm sure excavation will be on the things to do list, but only tomorrow will tell what other duties might appear.