A mom by any other name...
Mom hood..
Because as far as my limited vision and experience shows, motherhood is universal. We will kill for, die for, sacrifice everything for that tiny human. We struggle, we cry, we support...
But Momhood... now...
Breast or bottle fed. Stay at home or working. Interactive or hands-off. Disciplinarian or No-Scream parenting.
You know what two people we seem to leave out of these rants and arguments?
The mom and the child.
No, I do NOT discount fathers. I am blessed with a husband who bathed, showered, does scouts with, mentors, plays and disciplines his boys.
I will not and cannot discount the hugely biological, spiritual, chemical bond of mother and child. It is that dynamic that does not depend just on that dynamic, but the entirely of facets that surrounds them. The parents the mom had, the finances of the family, the situation the family is in now...
Momhood is an ethical, biological, moral, religious, intellectual, and situational decision.
What worked best for me was to go back to work. I had a calling to return to as well as a career. It was the best financial decision for the family. It was what worked for us.
I have not been able to go to Mothers and Others because I work. I got to meet the most amazing moms, most of who were blessed to stay at home. These are hard working moms I honor: It was just not my path.
A new mom called me this week, crying. Going back to work did NOT work for her. Her entire gut feeling said she needed to be by that baby. I talked her through some of the tears, thinking she'd be like me, and the next day would be better.
It wasn't. For me, going back to work was like slipping into a bath once I'd set up trusted child care.
It is not like this for other moms.
I wasn't wrong. She wasn't wrong.
Our momhood doesn't look the same, but we're still Mom.
Because as far as my limited vision and experience shows, motherhood is universal. We will kill for, die for, sacrifice everything for that tiny human. We struggle, we cry, we support...
But Momhood... now...
Breast or bottle fed. Stay at home or working. Interactive or hands-off. Disciplinarian or No-Scream parenting.
You know what two people we seem to leave out of these rants and arguments?
The mom and the child.
No, I do NOT discount fathers. I am blessed with a husband who bathed, showered, does scouts with, mentors, plays and disciplines his boys.
I will not and cannot discount the hugely biological, spiritual, chemical bond of mother and child. It is that dynamic that does not depend just on that dynamic, but the entirely of facets that surrounds them. The parents the mom had, the finances of the family, the situation the family is in now...
Momhood is an ethical, biological, moral, religious, intellectual, and situational decision.
What worked best for me was to go back to work. I had a calling to return to as well as a career. It was the best financial decision for the family. It was what worked for us.
I have not been able to go to Mothers and Others because I work. I got to meet the most amazing moms, most of who were blessed to stay at home. These are hard working moms I honor: It was just not my path.
A new mom called me this week, crying. Going back to work did NOT work for her. Her entire gut feeling said she needed to be by that baby. I talked her through some of the tears, thinking she'd be like me, and the next day would be better.
It wasn't. For me, going back to work was like slipping into a bath once I'd set up trusted child care.
It is not like this for other moms.
I wasn't wrong. She wasn't wrong.
Our momhood doesn't look the same, but we're still Mom.