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Monday, June 13, 2005
this woman's work
After a much longer labor than it took for either of his brothers to arrive, my sister-in-law ushered her newest blessing into the world yesterday morning. Here he is being examined and admired by his brothers and cousins.
I was thinking yesterday about all that we go through for our children. We as mothers carry them around inside our bodies; we care for ourselves so as to care for them; we go through enormously painful processes to bring them outside into the world; we feed them; we nurture them. We give up huge, huge chunks of our time and our freedom to them. They become a part of who we are. Now, this is not an unpleasant sacrifice, for me, anyway; I have always relished my role as a mother. But what I was thinking about yesterday was the way our children have no clue AT ALL how much our lives are altered by them, how much work and pain we put ourselves through for their sake. Maybe as they gain maturity they'll understand that better. Maybe it won't be until they have children of their own, and do it all themselves (or watch their wives do it). Then they'll be able to empathize a bit.
Certainly, it wasn't happening yet yesterday, when I suggested that the kids and I hang around at the park rather than waiting in the car while T ran some car-project-related errands, and C said that she'd much rather I ran the errands while T took them to the park. Not much maternal appreciation there, no sirree.
Comments
Please tell Debi and her husband I said congratulations!! He's beautiful! (well, I'm sure he is, anyway ;-)
Posted by: Susan at June 13, 2005 11:30 AM
Congratulations to your brother and SIL on the new baby!
It hurts when someone (unintentionally or not) makes you feel second-best. I get that from my youngest sister, sometimes, and I imagine it's even worse when it's from a child for whom you've sacrificed so much, so generously. I think lots of stay-at-home moms get that occasional "I like Dad better" vibe from their kids, simply because they don't see dad as much as mom. Doesn't make it any more pleasant, though, I'm sure!
Posted by: Michael at June 13, 2005 02:44 PM
He's here! Praise God! My kids were excited to see.
Posted by: Sher at June 13, 2005 04:19 PM
You know, I know for a fact our mothers felt the same way when we were kids. Your children will one day grow up and show you how appreciated you are, just like we showed our mothers when we grew to realize it.
Posted by: jenn at June 13, 2005 08:36 PM
