To all of you who are moms---

the moment i looked at my daughter for the first time i doubled in my desires to be a good, strong, faithful woman. motherhood has made me feel everything more deeply: love, joy, happiness; but also pain, worry, and fear. and as hard and tiring as that sounds (and it is both hard and tiring), that fullness of emotion is what I love about motherhood. i will take the worry and work if with it comes love that makes you want to burst, happiness that makes you float, and a desire to nurture that sends you on the errand of angels. being a mother fills me with purpose.

i tried to save this cupcake till tonight when i could enjoy it in the bath with a book and some tea, but the temptation proved too great. as i took that glorious bite, i got to thinking about the place this perfect little cupcake must have come from. then i got to thinking, wouldn't it be the best job in the whole world to own a really sweet and pretty bakery? that made oversize cupcakes and little tarts and cheesecakes and breads? that had the most fabulous party cake designer around and sold little girls aprons and mixes and handmade goodies all along the walls?

then i thought, the only better job in the world would be to have a yarn and fabric store with every delicious yarn and gorgeous fabric, both new and vintage imaginable in wonderful colors and big comfortable couches where you sat and knit or hand sewed and tought people to knit or hand sew all day. oh i just don't know which one i'd like more! but then i considered that another really really good job would be to organize and design happy spaces for people in their homes. to teach people how to get rid of clutter and live with inspiring things around them. and design beautiful rooms and cozy beds. or maybe a photographer, wouldn't that be exciting! but even all the creative careers in the world surely can't match the intoxicating thrill of running a corporation, i mused. that would truly be a one in a million life- fast paced, lots to do each day, in charge of so many important things. oh but it would be fun, i dreamed, to be like a personal shopper. who got to pick out all the clothes and shoes and stuff she loved for someone to wear. shopping all the time! what fun! then again, teachers get to mold a whole new generation- that is amazingly rewarding work- so much sacrifice, so much fruit. that would be a saint's job.

"WAIT!" i thought, "i've got it!" the ultimate most wonderful job that takes the cake! being a mom, who can make her home inspiring, clean, and inviting...who can fill it with fragrant smells of cupcakes and bread baking and throw fabulous parties.. who can sit on a comfy couch and knit when the days duties are done...who can take pictures of her family and life any time she'd like, who can learn anything at all that she'd like to do...who is responsible for clothing and fashioning her little family...who runs her little company with hard work, saving, and all the wisdom of the best corporations- in charge of molding the most important things and people in her whole world. why, yes THAT would be the most perfect, the most fulfilling, the most rewarding job (with the most fruit). and would you look at that? i have it. (taken from a wonderul mom out there.)