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Along Abbey Road | A Lifestyle And Family Blog : I Choose To Be A Mom

9.21.2012

I Choose To Be A Mom

Luke at 1 week old

In a world of high-powered, entrepreneurial women, the notion of motherhood has morphed into a new standard. The apron-wearing homemaker no longer stands as the ultimate symbol of womanhood, which I appreciate. I firmly believe in equality for women, and love that women possess the opportunities to pave their own path career-wise, socially, and politically. Elizabeth Cady Stanton was the subject of my very first research project in 7th grade. I even dressed up like her, the whole kit and caboodle, and the whole thing laid the foundation for the feminist side of me. Girl power all the way. 

This is exactly why I chose to become a mother, first and foremost. You may be scratching your head in stupor thinking, "how is being a stay at home mom in any way related to feminism?" and that makes sense at first glance, but allow me to explain.

Being a mother is by far the most challenging, painful, self-improving, and beautiful job in existence. It is something so divine that only we as women have the power to perform. From the beginning, we sacrifice our bodies to grow these amazing humans. We struggle, scream, and cry tears of incomprehensible joy as we birth them, and continue this as we rear them. Do you think a man could handle this? No way, jose! We women have been given this ability because we are strong, smart, and innately full of ridiculous amounts of love and compassion (even if it is only for our offspring).

The stay at home mom title garners a lot of negative attention, and in many circles is scoffed at. The modern notion of "housewife" makes many cringe with anger, but the reality is, we don't live in that idyllic fantasy land of the 50's anymore. We don't all  play house all day, scrubbing the cracks in the tiles until our fingers bleed or make nightly dinners enviable of a Thanksgiving feast. The end-all goal isn't to be the Betty Draper of the world (and we all know how that turned out), with only shiny china and a killer roast duck to show for it. At least it isn't for me. Being a stay at home mom means I am creating a comfortable, loving environment for my children to learn and be educated. I am fulfilling my responsibility to teach my children standards, goals, and the ability to think and choose for themselves, in the hope that they will lead a life in the direction of their convictions, which will ultimately lead to their success.

There is every type of mother out there, all for whom I hold the utmost respect. Especially the women who take on the role of executive, business-owner, editor-in-chief, etc. along with mother. In many instances women don't have the choice to stay at home exclusively even if they desired, and being the provider and mother of the family furthers my profound respect for them.  

Fortunately, we live in such a rich time in history, where unjust boundaries are melting, molding into the progression of a more opportune world. And I love my place in the middle of it all, standing boldly and proudly as a mom.

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13 Comments:

At September 21, 2012 at 2:53 PM , Blogger Kaity B. said...

This. is. awesome.

 
At September 21, 2012 at 4:06 PM , Blogger the creation of beauty is art. said...

This is such an incredible post. What you said is so true. The relationship between a mother and child is unlike any other.
the-creationofbeauty.blogspot.com

 
At September 21, 2012 at 4:30 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

I'm in love with this. Not having children yet I constnatly think about what I am going to do once they come and whether I will be cheating myself by staying at home or not staying at home. You put it beautifully

 
At September 21, 2012 at 8:21 PM , Blogger Unknown said...

What a thoughtful, beautiful and touching post. I totally agree with you in all aspects of your post. Thank you for writing this!

http://shannonhearts.blogspot.com/

 
At September 21, 2012 at 10:55 PM , Blogger Rachael said...

I agree with many aspects of this. Being a feminist should mean being able to decide what oath is best for you and not being judegemental of other women's choices- whether that be working full/ part time or working at home (as I doubt any stay at home mother thinks they don't have a job to do- as you outline above). That said, I feel I should send out a note of praise to all the fathers who stay at home too and provide all/ part of the childcare as I happen to know I few who do an incredible job.Rx

http://sandersonsmithstory.blogspot.co.uk/

 
At September 22, 2012 at 1:55 AM , Blogger ZADIN said...

The best thing for my son would have been to be a stay at home mom, but that isn't possible, because then we wouldn't be able to afford many things.
I have a question regarding the stay at home mom approach... what happens when the kids grow up and they go to college? what should a stay at home mom do then?

www.zadinblog.com

 
At September 22, 2012 at 7:57 PM , Blogger J+K=Fly said...

I totally agree with everything you said. And to the person above me, I would say: continue to improve on yourself, just like you did when you were with your children when they were young. Want an example? My mother stayed at home raising us kids, and in her mid to late thirties decided she wanted to play the cello. She is now head cellist in a very large and successful orchestra. Basically... You should never stop trying to improve on yourself. Whether you stay at home to raise children or have a high profile career.

 
At September 23, 2012 at 8:23 AM , Anonymous research paper writing said...

It is really very pleasing to know that you give priority to be a mother rather than just been a working and busy women....

 
At September 23, 2012 at 11:07 AM , Blogger Unknown said...

i love this post so much as i have made the decision to become a full time mother once my baby arrives in november.

and i think it is such an impotant role and i feel so lucky that women are now able to choose our role a lot more. i can't wait to teach my children morals, to follow their dreams and to be who they want to be.

 
At September 24, 2012 at 12:43 AM , Blogger Megan said...

Amen.Amen.Amen! This is such a beautiful, inspiring post. I have always wanted to write a post like this but never knew how to say it all so eloquently and effectively. You did just that. Love it!

 
At September 24, 2012 at 8:56 AM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

I love this so much. Thanks for sharing.

 
At September 24, 2012 at 10:05 AM , Blogger Laura said...

I am pregnant with my first and since I was little I knew I wanted to be a stay at home mom, mainly because I appreciated it so much that my mom was, she was stay at home up till we were in school and she did have a few part time jobs while we were growing up but she scheduled it around our schooling and activities then ran her own business once we were in 8th grade and high school, but she was ALWAYS there for us, always always! And she planned her life around being a wife first a mom second and not around working, THAT is what I appreciated, that I always knew I could count on her to be there. My love language is 12 outa 12 Quality Time and it makes total sense to me now why I appreciated my mom being there so very much and why I also want to do that for my child no matter the cost. I went to college and got my BS degree 3 years to the day I graduated, I busted my butt, and I worked hard and I have been working for the past 3 years but I know there is nothing more important to me then to be a stay at home mom even if I have to sacrifice that to do it.

 
At October 18, 2012 at 12:48 PM , Blogger Rolled Up Pretty said...

As a new mom, I LOVE this post. Very well written! Your blog is adorable and so is your little family! Can't wait to keep reading! :)

 

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