By Ann McGough

I love being a mother. It is my life. But, when a friend recently asked me if being a mother is harder than I thought it would be, I had to answer, yes.

The things that I thought would be hard, however, have actually been the easiest to get used to. I have grown accustomed to the fact that eight hours of sleep in a row is just not in the cards for me right now. I know, and the people who know me know, that I am always running late (though, I can't blame that one totally on the kids). Getting three little people up, fed, bathed, and out of the house, keeping them engaged all day, and then getting them back in the house, fed, bathed, read to, and put to bed at the end of the day is actually a lot of fun.

But, when I finally put my head on the pillow at the end of the day, I worry. Sometimes I worry if I was too strict with Ellen. Sometimes I worry that I should have been stricter. I worry that I indulge Mikey too much, then I worry that I don't baby him enough. I love little Kevin so much, but in all honesty I know he does not get held or read to as much as Ellen and Mikey. I worry about where I will send them to school; public, private or parochial? I worry about their teeth; Ellen just had her first cavity filled. I worry about how to keep them away from "the wrong crowd." I know other mothers have the same worries and fears because it is what my other mom friends and I talk about every day. We have no guarantees on how things will work out. So it is always worthwhile to seek advice. If I wanted to learn ballroom dancing, I would go to Arthur Miller and if I wanted to learn to cook, I would go to Julia Child. So, when I wanted some advice on parenting, I went to two women whose children are a true testament to what wonderful mothers they are: Noreen Kelly and Frannie George.

Noreen Kelly raised six kids on Westglow Street, not far from Saint Ann Church. Mrs. Kelly's kids have all grown into wonderful, successful, good-hearted adults who are still speaking to their parents. In fact, two of the Kelly boys now own homes on Westglow St. themselves.

Mrs. Kelly recalls her days as a young mother as being busy, but a good busy. "You did not have three minutes to call your own," she admits.

What really helped her to enjoy those days was having other moms around.

"We had each other. If the kids were driving me crazy, I knew I could always pile everybody into the carriage and walk to somebody's else's house. The kids all played together in one room, while the mothers solved the world's problems in the next. Young mothers don't have that today. Their friends are working and their mothers and their aunts are still working too."

Young children today go to more zoos, museums, parks, and playgroups over the course of a month than their parents probally did in their entire childhood When I asked Kelly if she thought that all of the "organized fun" of the 21st century is crazy, she responded, "It's not crazy, it's unfortunate. Mothers today do not have the luxury of allowing their kids to just go out and play."

"There are not as many kids around, a lot of kids are in daycare. You have to worry about wackos. When our kids were small, there was always a big kid around who could look out for the little ones."

Kelly adds, "One time my two oldest boys walked down to Dunkin' Donuts. Apparently they didn't use a crosswalk because I got a phone call from another mother before they even made back home. To this day, they don't know who told me. All of the mothers looked out for eachother. I think we had the best time to raise our kids."

What does Kelly say about the messy house, bottomless laundry hamper, and the overall "organized chaos" that often goes along with motherhood? "Bounce with it!"

Franny George knows that, too. She raised six kids on Saint Margaret Street. All six of the George kids went to Boston Latin and they are all great people. Of the six, three still live within a stone's throw of their parent's house. Mrs. George's last two children were a set of twin boys.

"When they were born," she recalls, "Stephen was five years, seven months and Diane was only 13 months." When asked if she had any help, Mrs. George says, "My mother lived downstairs, so she helped me feed the twins. But, she worked, too."

Mrs. George says she cherished every moment of watching her children grow.

"I used to hear a lot of people say things like,'I can't wait until they are out of diapers.' But I never felt that way. I always tried to enjoy every moment."

"We drove cross-country in a station wagon when the twins were two years old. We were gone for three weeks. The oldest boys, Stephen and Kevin were six and seven at the time. You wouldn't believe the work they did. They set up the tents for us. I told my husband that I did not want to cook while we were on vacation, so the older boys helped him with the cooking."

She continues, "My husband was a teacher so he had the whole summer off. When he suggested the trip to us, I thought he was crazy, but I am so glad that we did it. Once the kids got older and started playing sports we never would have been able to do that."

George says she still remembers the highest compliment that one of her kids paid her.

"One day I made homefries and one of the boys said, 'These are almost as good as McDonald's," Franny laughs.