Sit back and imagine this.

You are in a position of extreme significance and importance. So much so that it seems all of the vastness of humanity has nothing better to do then to try and get your attention 24 hours day/7 days week/365 days a year. You are hounded by others, who are in similar positions, but not as important as yours, for your time and precious resources, so that they can ease some of their own responsibilities and make their own exitances, in addition to those they report to, that much easier. You are responsible for the making and the following up on of decisions that not only affect those that report directly to you, but the choices you make will change the way people in other departments will be thinking not only in the here and now but far off into the future. You are known, not by your name because that was given up when you accepted this job, but your title alone. All sense of your individuality has been systematically removed to the point where you are now a seemingly faceless automaton, solving one catastrophe after another while living off a combination of massive amounts of coffee, bites of food picked up here and there, and the occasional, but treasured, 20-minute cat nap.

Now if you think I am talking about “The Leader of The Free World”, you are sorely mistaken, my friend. No, I’m talking about Moms.

Recently we had a change in leadership in our beloved country. One person left office and another took his place. And while his job was/is important, it was/is by no means as important and as stressful as a Mom. Look at the Current and Former First Ladies of our country. While the President gets to leave all the stress of his previous occupation behind, the First Lady is still a Mom. I was reading the news this morning and saw that our newest former president was on the links of a famous billionaire playing a round of golf while staying in the house of Spanish diplomat. And where was the Former First Lady? Back at the house with the kids!

Now, I don’t begrudge the former president for playing golf now that he is out of office. Not at all. The man, whether I agreed, or not, with his politics and the way he ran the country, deserves the time off. But do we read what his wife is doing on her “down time”? Does she even have any “down time”? How come we don’t hear of the Former First Lady kicking it by the pool, enjoying the beverage of her choice while the kids are being handled by the other half of the duo that used to live in the White House?

Moms deserve the break. However, Moms never get one. No matter how much we try to give our Moms a break, the woman never seems to take it. And do you know why? Because, as far as mother’s go, Moms are always there to make sure we, their children, are okay. There are no term limits to being a mother like some other jobs out there. Moms do not have a time clock they punch to end their day. Oh no! Once you become a Mom, that’s it. Game over. Your life is no longer your own but now centers around those crumb-crunching, carbon based lifeforms that took seemingly forever to come out of your body.

Don’t get me wrong, Dads love their kids and will be willing to do anything, even kill, for their children. Okay, except maybe change a poopy diaper. But other than that, Dads do really love their kids.

But it’s the Mom who is willing to live her life in anonymity so that her children can have their moment in the spotlight. While the Dads are bragging to everyone in the stands “That’s MY kid!” it’s the Moms who are silently smiling in pride over what their children are doing. Be it from a kindergartener bringing home a fingerpainting of an elephant with three legs, two trunks and one tusk, or jump to the future in the blink of an eye as she watches her little one, now all grown up, giving their acceptance speech for winning the Nobel Prize, all Moms will smile with silent pride that says “Yeah, it was all so worth it.”

So, as you go through the week and read how a former world leader is spending his “downtime from the office”, remember how someone who played a larger role than some bozo from Washington ever did, is still on the job and would like to hear from you. Better yet, take her to lunch, or dinner or just go over to her place just to say “Hi” and see how that smile of pride put there by the years of hard work comes to her face when you come into view.