Mothering Earth/ Mothering our children
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a belated Mother’s Day Post re-posted for lack of readers!
Motherhood is about caring for all living things. It’s about ensuring that all newborn babes get the food, clothing, medical care, and shelter they need to survive and thrive. And about caring for the generations yet to be.
I have been a biological mother since June 6, 1972, around 2:13 p.m. in the afternoon. It had been a long labor — 18 hours — and I’d had to give up on my earlier plans for a “natural childbirth” because at that point I was thoroughly exhausted, and opted for a saddle block (which is what they used then). Full consciousness but no pain…until it wore off, of course!
But motherhood isn’t just about giving birth. It isn’t even necessarily about raising one’s own children, although that can be a part of it. Nor does one need to be a biological mom…nor even an adoptive mom.
Motherhood is about caring for all living things on this planet, about ensuring that all newborn babes get the food, clothing, medical care, and shelter they need to survive and thrive. And about caring for the generations yet to be.
Motherhood is about providing for the education, safety, and well being of all children, not just your own. Motherhood is about looking around for the child who needs something, and being there to provide it — if it’s a hand to help cross the street, or a stand against a bully, or a free breakfast to fill the belly so it’s easier to learn.
Motherhood is about standing up against war because of all those who get hurt by war, children are the most vulnerable and have the least resources for survival. Motherhood is about standing up against those who run for-profit prisons, who make money off of kids who’ve done little more than “mouth off” to their teachers. Motherhood is about demanding that banks not put young adults who want to better themselves by getting a college education, or even vocational education, in hock for the rest of their lives.
