Motherhood is kind of like a superpower. You do things you never thought possible. You survive on very little sleep. You juggle twelve things at once. You find strength when you thought you had none left.
That’s why two stories of moms being moms touched my heart this week. The first was a fun news story about a meteorologist from Milwaukee who works from home because of COVID restrictions. With her studio set up in her house, Rebecca Schuld was preparing to go live with the weather forecast when her 13-week-old daughter woke up from her nap.
So, with her daughter nestled in her arms, Rebecca went on air and gave the forecast. It all went well, and viewers loved seeing her sweet baby.
Rebecca said that, for a brief moment, she felt a little guilty mixing family and work, but those feelings soon passed, and she said to herself: “This is awesome. . . . I am still getting my work done. And, yes, do I have to put a pause on it if there’s something going on with the baby? Sure. But that’s life, right?”
And then there’s the story of Olympic bobsledder Elana Meyers Taylor, who at 37, is hoping to win a gold at the Beijing Olympics this weekend. Elana and her husband, who is also an Olympic bobsledder, had their son Nico in 2020. Nico has Down syndrome, but Elana says they won’t allow that to hold him back from following his dreams. They want to be good role models for him so he can grow up believing that he can do whatever he sets his sights on. And Elana wants to show the world that she can pursue two dreams at once—being a mom and being an Olympic athlete. She says:
I don’t know how this will all turn out at the [Olympics] – but I just wanted to show it’s possible. It’s possible to compete at the highest level at 37 years old. . . . It’s possible to have a baby and come back from pregnancy and continue competing. It’s possible to do extended breastfeeding and physically perform better than most in the works. It’s possible to travel the world with your family, including a baby, and win races. It’s possible to parent a child with special needs and continue to chase your dreams. It’s not easy – there’s definitely moments of doubt and extreme highs and lows – but it’s possible.
What an inspiration these two women are! And what a great way to affirm motherhood and the sanctity of life!
Motherhood is a blessing because every baby is a blessing. Many women in our society are so busy shouting their abortion stories, their desire to put career first, and their beliefs that they can’t work and be a mom that they have lost sight of the fact that they can do both. It is possible.
Yes, a baby changes the trajectory of our lives. That’s the nature of adding a tiny and dependent human being to your family. But that doesn’t mean that babies are a hindrance or a burden. Babies bring immense joy.
It’s time we stopped thinking about how babies are holding us back and start realizing how they open our hearts.
Our world needs a mindset shift that starts with love. Not a love of self but a love of others.
Women must stop thinking that they have to be just like men. Women are not like men. While everyone deserves to be treated equally and fairly, there’s nothing wrong with being different. Men and women complement each other. And it’s an immense gift that women carry and deliver babies. Our society must begin to embrace this fact so that more moms can feel comfortable when they want to both have children and work.
I remember many years ago when I was pregnant with my first child. I was the assistant director of a homeless shelter, and we were planning on moving right before I had the baby. My boss—the director—had become a good friend, and she didn’t want me to leave. To entice me to stay, she said I could bring the baby to work with me. It would certainly have been tempting if we were remaining in the area, but I was grateful for the offer, nonetheless.
This is the world we should be living in today—a world that respects moms and their babies and that not only acknowledges the value of family but embraces it.
How do we get there? We keep working toward a world where stories like these are the norm not the anomalies. We keep teaching the sanctity of life. We keep speaking up for babies. We continue to praise all moms—the moms who stay home with their babies and the moms who juggle work and family.
Only when our world sees motherhood as the gift it is will people truly realize that moms are some of the greatest superheroes on the planet.
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