I'm tired of the stigma that says that I'm not a mother to my three furry children who all wear collars and walk on four paws. Not only is this incredibly offensive to those who are unable to reproduce, or just simply don't want human children, but it makes me wonder who is to say who is actually a mother. Lately I've been seeing Facebook post, upon article on the internet, of angry human mothers who are trying to fight that you aren't a real mom if your child has fur. I'm fighting for the side that if you think you're a mother, you are.
I spend hours upon hours of my day making sure my little ones are taken care of. My days start at the crack of dawn because the littlest one has to go outside and stand there in the freezing cold for close to twenty minutes just to bark at the garbage truck going by. My days end with nightly snuggles and purrs and puppy kisses. I spend paychecks upon paychecks to make sure they have food, go to the vet regularly, and are the happiest with new toys and treats. We go for walks, spend our time by the river, go fishing, hiking, and sight seeing.
Just because I can't take my child to most restaurants, movie theaters, or on public transportation, does not mean that he is any less of children than your screaming baby. He wakes me up in the middle of the nights, too. He gets sick just like yours does. He makes messes in the house. He ruins a lot of carpets and furniture. He needs constant love and attention. He cries when I'm ignoring him. He gets lonely. He gets excited over new toys.
The oldest is the most spoiled and misses a home where he was an only child. The middle of course has middle child syndrome and feels like he needs to act out just to get attention. This causes a lot of knocked over cups and broken ceramics. Then there's the baby, the one who I believe is the angel and doesn't get in trouble for any of the bad he does. Just like a "real" mom, we all have our difficulties with siblings fighting. They play. They fight. They snuggle at the end of the day.
If you love something, you feed it every day, you are responsible for its life and well being, you are a mother. End of story.