Sunny kids

I think this is so beautiful that I wanted to share it with whoever reads my blog. If you want to copy this and post it to your blog. Highlight the message, hit "ctrl C", then post it to your blog

Being A Mom

We are sitting at lunch one day when my daughter casually
mentions hat she and her husband are thinking of "starting a family."
We're taking a survey," she says half-joking.
Do you think I should have a baby?"

It will change your life," I say, carefully keeping my tone neutral.
I know," she says, "no more sleeping in on weekends, no more
spontaneous vacations."
But that is not what I meant at all. I look at my daughter,
trying to decide what to tell her. I want her to know what she will never
learn in childbirth classes.
I want to tell her that the physical wounds of child bearing
will heal, but becoming a mother will leave her with an emotional
wound so raw that she will forever be vulnerable.
I consider warning her that she will never again read a
newspaper without asking, "What if that had been MY child?" That every
plane crash, every house fire will haunt her. That when she sees
pictures of starving children, she will wonder if anything could be worse
than watching your child die.
I look at her carefully manicured nails and stylish suit and
think that no matter how sophisticated she is, becoming a mother will
reduce her to the primitive level of a bear protecting her cub. That
an urgent call of "Mom!"will cause her to drop a souffle or her best crystal without a
moments hesitation.

I feel that I should warn her that no matter how many years she
has invested in her career, she will be professionally derailed by
motherhood. She might arrange for childcare, but one day she
will be going into an important business meeting and she will think of
her baby's sweet smell. She will have to use every ounce of
discipline to keep from running home, just to make sure her baby is all
right.
I want my daughter to know that every day decisions will no
longer be routine. That a five year old boy's desire to go to the men's
room rather than the women's at McDonald's will become a major
dilemma. That right there, in the midst of clattering trays and
screaming children, issues of independence and gender identity will be
weighed against the prospect that a child molester may be lurking in
that restroom.
However decisive she may be at the office, she will
second-guess herself constantly as a mother.

Looking at my attractive daughter, I want to assure her that
eventually she will shed the pounds of pregnancy, but she will
never feel the same about herself.
That her life, now so important, will be of less value to her
once she has a child. That she would give herself up in a moment to save
her offspring, but will also begin to hope for more years, not to
accomplish her own dreams, but to watch her child accomplish
theirs. I want her to know that a cesarean scar or shiny stretch marks
will become badges of honor. My daughter's relationship with her
husband will change, but not in the way she thinks.
I wish she could understand how much more you can love a man
who is careful to powder the baby or who never hesitates to play with
his child. I think she should know that she will fall in love with
him again for reasons she would now find very unromantic.

I wish my daughter could sense the bond she will feel with
women throughout history who have tried to stop war, prejudice and
drunk driving.
I want to describe to my daughter the exhilaration of seeing
your child learn to ride a bike. I want to capture for her the belly
laugh of a baby who is touching the soft fur of a dog or cat for the
first time. I want her to taste the joy that is so real it actually
hurts.
My daughter's quizzical look makes me realize that tears have
formed in my eyes. "You'll never regret it," I finally say.
Then I reached across the table, squeezed my daughter's hand
and offered a silent prayer for her, and for me, and for all the mere mortal
women who stumble their way into this most wonderful of callings.


Please share this with a Mom that you know or all of your
girlfriends who may someday be Moms. May you always have in your arms the
one who is in your heart.

The Best Things In Life Aren't Things"










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