Shyam Sunder wrote:
"maintaining my serenity was critical to being a good mother"
That sounds very profound, but I don't think I understood. Heather, could you
please say more?
To quote someone who said it better: Mothers are endless wells of stuff.
Mothers are called upon to provide for all the needs of small people,
24/7. We don't get to clock out after putting in a day's work. The needs
of small people make no allowances for the mother's commitments,
exhaustion, illness, physical limitations, or emotional resources.
At the same time, mothers are called upon to be patient and present with
their children, to realize at all times that we are responsible for
guiding and teaching these small human beings. We need to be
compassionate with them, and to be good examples of all the values we
want them to embody.
I was a better mother when I made sure that I had the reserves to deal
with small-person emergencies. I was a better mother when I was grounded
and centered, focused on the essential rather than the merely necessary.
I was a better mother when I practiced serenity minute-to-minute.
Developing oceans of patience and compassion enabled me to respond more
wisely to the daily challenge of raising human beings.
--hmm
