January 28, 2005 2:27 PM
I'd rather be a mommy
Okay, anyone who's been here before, please read my weblog description as it has changed. I've realized that in this intimate setting, I can't limit my writing to mothering topics.
Let me explain.
In the 60's/70's, we had a phrase: The personal is the political. As a radical leftist, I believed it then. As a compassionate conservative i believe it now. (btw, to me compassionate conservative means that although I am a conservative culturally and politcally, I grieve over corporate and individual greed).
Not only do I believe the personal is politcal, but I also believe the political is the personal. That is, unless your daily life matches your politics, you are the modern-day equivalent of the white-washed sepulchres (WWS). Movie stars who rail against the masses for harming the environment while living lives of conspicuous consumption are WWS. Racial leaders who hypnotize their followers into government dependent victims rather than inspiring and empowering them to succeed are WWS. Politicians like Kerry and the Clintons who claim to be for the poor and powerless while preferring the company of the rich and powerful are WWS.
My guess is that it's a little more difficult for mommies to become white-washed sepulchres. There are just too many reality checks when you hang out with kids. Always something there to remind you just how much more you have to learn. Yet mommies have a unique wisdom because of the way we think.
For mommies, it's as though The personal is the politcal has evolved into The personal is the political is the personal is the spiritual is the cultural is the historical. Some of the best thinkers and most creative people I know are mothers who spend all day with their kids, especially homeschool mommies.
Mommies are in the perfect position to live wholistically. Even as we're making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, we're busy analyzing and synthesizing all the information we've been taking in from the outer world. It makes for a rich inner life (and that's what people looking at the job of being a mommy from the outside don't see). It's similar to a habit of reflection or prayer described in my book Lord, Please Meet Me in the Laundry Room and recognized by a 17th century monk named Brother Lawrence thus: "The time of business does not with me differ from the time of prayer, and in the noise and clatter of my kitchen. . .I possess God in as great tranquility as if I were upon my knees at the blessed sacrament."
Agatha Christie definitely discovered the freedom that comes when your hands are occupied but your mind is free: "The best time for planning a book is while you're doing the dishes." Or taking a shower or raking the leaves.
It's this vibrant process of the mind of a mommy that I want to capture here. The way our motherhood impacts and is impacted by politics, the culture, and faith. While no one may be seeking us out to see what we think, our insights have a profound and unchartable effect, because through us, God holds the next generation in his hands.
Posted in Homeschooling, Inspiration, Mothering, Writing | Permalink
Comments
truely inspiring!! I sure hope you're still blogging by the time I become a mommie!!!
Posted by: Rose | January 30, 2005 4:51 PM
Hello, I just came across your blog via Acutal Unretouched Photo. This is timely for me, I just found out Sunday that I'm pregnant with my first child.
Thanks for affirming what I've been suspecting all along about mommyhood. Not many people talk about all the benefits and richess of motherhood anymore!
grace to you,
Feeble
Posted by: Feeble Knees | February 2, 2005 1:59 PM
