Mothers

After yesterdays post about mothers... I came across a blog post from one of my favorite bloggers called
I Don't Know How She Does It: The Real Truth

In it she writes about her conviction that to be a mother and wife alone... is simply enough.  She talks about the trend for Mom's today to "do it all".  A full time business, immaculate house, hobbies galore and some mothering on the side.  She is convinced (and I am too) that motherhood alone requires all we have to give,  all of our energy, all of our patience, all of our love.  And there is not a whole lot left over for the rest of stuff.  The perfect blogs and magazines who seem to imply that we can "do it all" are simply lies, because we can't do it all.  Being a Mom and wife... and doing it right... takes all that one woman can possibly give and the rest is a sad illusion.

The comment section after the post was full of interesting comments, but this one was my favorite.  I don't know if it is okay for me to borrow from a comment, but  I did.  Her name is Ruth and here is what she said:

This post reminded me of something in my files: Jaroldeen Edwards, mother of eight and an author, was once interviewed in her home by two sophisticated women reporters. At the end of the interview, the younger one went to make a phone call and the older one (30+) said intensely, "When I went to college they lied to us. They told us we were brilliant, and that we had the obligation to seek success. We were told not to throw our lives away on husbands and children, but to go out into the world and to succeed. We were told that only through a professional career could we 'find ourselves' or live a worthwhile life.

I just want you to know that this morning I have realized it was all a lie. I have come to know that a career is not a life - it is only something you do until you find a life. Life is what you are.

I would like to tell you I would trade all my so-called worldly success for one day of living your life."

Re-reading this, and your post, reminds me that I would do it ALL again. All 7 children, all 20 moves, all three countries, ALL of it. Mothers are so important.