A Mother's Paycheck - Guest Post

(About two months ago, I won a bloggy contest. My prize was a delightful set of note cards called "A Mother's Paycheck," and created by author, speaker, and blogger Sandra Joseph. Sandra blogs at Recognize and Remember and has a special mission to encourage the spiritual growth of mothers of young children. In her guest post for us, she writes about how she got the idea for A Mother's Paycheck.)


A Mother's Paycheck


Recently I was with my oldest daughter as she bought her first car. We sat across the desk as the office manager completed the paper work needed for ownership. Since I was there only as the driver to and from, I was looking at the personal items this woman had on her desk - family photos, drawings and notes from her daughters. I noticed a specific note she had on her adding machine that was written in colored pencil and read "Mommy - I love you Cassidy.


As I asked her about this note, she immediately lit up and shared that her daughter had written that note years ago when she had visited her Mom at the office. She is now a teenager, but this Mom could not bring herself to remove that note from her adding machine. It was her paycheck, "A Mother's Paycheck.


As moms, we all have them - notes, artwork, small gifts and memories that our children have given us, items that end up on the refrigerator or gifts that decorate our homes. These are our paychecks, our Mother’s Paychecks. For the job of mother, there are no applications, no job descriptions and no promotions. There is no work schedule, no 401K or paid time off. Our paychecks come in the special notes, sticky hugs, and irreplaceable gifts of recognizable moments.

These treasured memories are a mother's paycheck for the hard work of mothering. Moms are encouraged
to bank each recognizable memory, just as Jesus' mother Mary treasured these things in her heart found in Luke 2:19 & 51.


Every mother I know thinks that she will never forget a special moment such as the cute sayings of a preschooler, the meaning behind an artistic masterpiece, or her tweenager telling her that she is a "cool mom. But the days go by fast and we stress over messy rooms, piles of laundry, carpooling and life events. We forget that we have been paid. We tell ourselves that we are bad mothers and that our children do not appreciate all that we do. We need to remember our treasured memories that our mother's paychecks" have provided us.


A Mother's Paychecks are 4x6 note cards that come on a ring that help you to record the special mothering moments with your children. These paychecks were designed to hang on your refrigerator or put someplace where you can easily find them so you can write down the recognizable moment when it happens. You can then put A Mother's Paychecks in a photo album, journal, scrapbook or just leave them on the ring. Then when you wonder if this mothering journey is really worth all the work you will be able to easily remember these moments. The Mother's Paychecks come in sets of 25 in pink, blue or beige with a ribbon. We always think we will never forget but unless we record the memories in some manner, it is easily forgotten and gone! A Mother's Paychecks make it easy to record, remember and review all those special moments mothers treasure.


God calls us to remember because He knows that we will become discouraged in our mothering and spiritual journey. My daughters are mostly grown at this point, and my home is filled with Mother's Paychecks artwork, notes, and photos reminders of those precious days of intense mothering. Just like Mary treasured all these things in her heart I too treasure my Mother's Paychecks, and I encourage you to do the same.


(I have created a website called A Mother's Paycheck www.amotherspaycheck.com , which is in its infancy please visit and consider submitting your Mother's Paycheck story so we can encourage each other to recognize, record and remember our treasured Mothering Moments. )