The Blunt Moms were recently debating this article about the true value of motherhood.
The gloves came off so we are posting this smack down, using our words because we are Moms.
We asked two of our BLUNTmoms to take on one big question:
“Is motherhood your greatest accomplishment?”
We invite you to read over their opinions, then get out your sparring gloves and duke it out in the comments.
Ready, steady, GO!
Mom Point (by Lynn Morrison):
I am SO much more than my uterus
Wham, bam, thank you ma’am was all it took for me to get pregnant. It turns out that I am one of those incredibly lucky women who happens to be married to an incredibly lucky man, and all we have to do is look at one another without protection and I’m dry-heaving over the toilet. The act of going from not-mother to mother took no effort.
Raising children, on the other hand, is hard work. But so are a lot of great things in my life. Like my degrees. My progress up the career ladder. My adventures.
I want my kids to understand that they are also important to me. I want them to know I am proud of them for their goals and accomplishments, not necessarily (only) for the future generations they may bring into this world.
I am SO much more than my uterus. I believe in my inherent ability to make a difference in this world through my own actions and hard work. And I believe the same to be true for my children, and their children and so on. So no, becoming a mother is not my greatest accomplishment. Being someone who my children can aspire to become is.
Mom Counterpoint (by Inga Batur):
Making babies has been my greatest achievement by far
I had to read this article a few times just to see what bothered me the most. I think it’s offensive and trying it’s best to be judgmental. First of all I don’t think being a mother is a job, because I don’t just do nine to five and then I am off. But for argument’s sake let’s keep it in terms of work. And so, yes it is tough and having kids is by far my greatest achievement. Nothing will ever come close to topping it.
I am a working Mom, so I know that no project is as big as raising kids to become loving and content adults.
In all honesty it’s actually the only profession nature intended us to have; everything else we invented. I am not trying to diminish anyone else here nor am I thinking that Mothers are the only ones who have it tough. If we as parents are trying to do the job right I believe none of us have it easy. But propagating the species is apparently not as simple as it used to be for generations, or perhaps we are making that much of a fuss, just because we can. Maybe we should follow the examples of our forefathers; shut up and just do it. But what fun would that be?
What do you think?
{This ‘Best of Blunt Moms’ post was first published in July 2013}