It's like I was out there in the world for so many years being motherless and then one morning I peed on a stick and suddenly I was a mother. I couldn't have known then that the hole in my chest would only get bigger and that my loneliness would be married to the fact that I was motherless. I will never know love like this again, I thought, as I sat next to her hospital bed for the last time.

As the boss of your family, you will likely find a mission statement handy, if for no other reason than to remind yourself of what you were thinking when you brought these people into the world. And why you shouldn't take them out. Corporately, a mission statement should address the employees, the shareholders, and the customers. Here's a quick primer on adapting those three categories to family life.

In 2005 my life was very different than it is now. A job in advertising afforded me a very indulgent lifestyle and I spent every cent on purses, high heels, and enjoying myself. Having a child was the last thing on my radar. Life never goes the way we plan it. Today, I have a 10 month old, a husband and a house in Toronto.

When I was pregnant with my first child, I had a list of all the "dos and don'ts" required for effectively achieving the status of perfect parent. As I swapped my hopes for a career in nursing, and instead chose countless hours of time bonding with my children, in those early days of motherhood when I was stumbling over the educational toys strewn about my home, nobody could have convinced me then that I would become what I am today.

My husband and I had two children 18 months apart. If you have your kids close together like we did, the "lost zone" can stretch up to five years -- in a row. That's a long time to be living together but doing different things. Remembering to be married means remembering to be together on a basic level, kissing, touching, nice words, helping each other.

Kids aren't for everyone. And according to Ellen L. Walker, author of "Complete Without Kids: An Insider's Guide to Childfree Living by Choice or by C...