Mothering Earth/ Mothering our children

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.

The mysterious lady behind the bangs is me in the summer of 1972, with my two-month old daughter, at a Southern California beach city along the Boardwalk.

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…