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It's time to torpedo the long-held belief about Mommy Brain. You know what I'm talking about. It's the idea that motherhood transforms your brain into SpaghettiOs®. Not True.

Motherhood is a brain boost, not a brain drain. Motherhood makes you more efficient, more creative, and more compassionate.

You, in fact, did not park your brain at the delivery room door. Nor did you abandon all intelligent thought the day you held your newly-adopted child. As a mother—whether by natural birth or adoption—you are stimulating your brain in new ways. As a mom of a newborn, you are immersed in learning about your baby. You learn to recognize his fussy cry from his hungry cry or from his "Hurry up and change my wet diaper" cry.

As Katherine Ellison writes in her book, The Mommy Brain: How Motherhood Makes You Smarter, "You're paying attention and quickly learning from experience, because someone's life depends on it."

I can just imagine what your typical day with preschoolers looks like because I've had my own "typical" days with four children. You're disciplining toddlers, reading exciting books like, Go Dogs Go or Put Me in the Zoo, and declaring, "Have a timeout!" You can't find your car keys, your checkbook—and when was the last time you had a complete thought?

Stop thinking that your brain has the IQ of a bowl of pasta. Instead, realize you are a lot like Albert Einstein. "Mr. Theory of Relativity" himself forgot where he put checks for large amounts of money. However, Einstein's forgetfulness was not because of a bad memory, but because he was deeply concentrating on things of greater importance.

You tell me which is more important: your car keys or your 2-year-old?

Being a mom makes you more efficient because it teaches you to focus on the essential. Sometimes you may feel like you are part of a Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus juggling act. You're trying to comfort a sick baby while you help another child finish his homework. Or you're up against a tight work deadline and your preschoolers spend all day fighting, with you as referee. What to do? Adjust, knowing you are probably not going to get as much sleep as you'd like. A mom becomes an expert at figuring out what is important and what isn't. Sure, you planned on doing laundry, but a child with the flu is more important than clean underwear.

Motherhood forces you to be creative—either that, or you resign yourself to being frustrated most days. No, I'm not talking about creating an oil painting or needlepoint pillow, although some moms do find time to squeeze in those artistic activities. Instead, think about all those times you handle a "What now?" situation. What do you do when your 8-month-old has been nursed, rocked, serenaded, diapered—and still won't go to sleep? What do you do when your toddler plays tick-tack-toe on your carpet with a permanent marker? (True story.) You get creative. Moms are great at spin control—turning a negative situation into a positive one.

Moms also learn quickly that motherhood is not a solo endeavor. Friendships with other moms are like networking in the business world. You develop key contacts with other people, sharing information that helps you be a successful mom. Some days, getting to a MOPS meeting may require all the strategic planning of a military campaign. But tending your baby and befriending other moms, Ellison says, reduces stress and is healthy for your mind and body. Just remember: Your brain is up to the challenge!

When you think about it, motherhood truly does stimulate your brain. You zero in on what is most important in your life (kids not car keys) and stay on your mental tiptoes while turning a disaster into a family memory. But even more important than these mental skills, motherhood teaches you to be compassionate. You start out kissing boo-boos to make it all better and, as your children grow, they turn to you to hug them, to encourage them, to walk alongside them as they experience the bumps and bruises of childhood.

"It is not until you become a mother that your judgment slowly turns to compassion and understanding," said the late Erma Bombeck, who wrote with humor and reality about being a mom. And if you're going to face real-life motherhood, you've got to have a sense of humor and the knowledge that you are smarter than you think.

Beth K. Vogt is a freelance writer living in Colorado Springs, Colorado. She and her husband are spread all over the parenting spectrum, thanks to their twenty-something son, two teen daughters, and their preschool daughter.

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