I Need to Do This Work

I read and review the words of participants in the Mothering Contexts Study often. I am waiting until there are 150 completed before beginning my first analysis (6 more!).

After reading about another mother's adventures in mothering I am reminded that as mothering is a context, so too is childhood - only the latter is more temporal; it ends. When we are in the thick of it mothering our children it can get very overwhelming (to say the least), but I believe we owe it to ourselves and to our children to recognize the gifts we have in them and the gifts we can give them.

Some of us provide our children with the role model we wish we had.
Some of us strive to live up to the way we were mothered.
Some of us struggle more than others with meeting our children's physical, basic needs.
Some of us struggle more than others with meeting our children's emotional needs.
Some of us live with regret, sadness, shame and fear.
Some of us have been given second chances.
Some of us have more.
Some of us have less.
Some of us have caring communities to share the work of mothering.

But, all of us are mothers, each of us giving this journey our own creative style and understanding our roles in unique and inspiring ways.

I need to do this work.

There are stories that need to be shared, more broadly.
There are concerns that need to be validated, more politically.
There are issues that need to be taken seriously.

So, after wiping a tear from my eye, I will shift gears to complete other work that must be done.