What was meant to be a resource for the lonely and seeking mother, turned into flashy, glaring badges defining me and thus defining you by parenting styles we've chosen or not chosen to embrace.
And so the Attachement Parenting, Breastfeeding and Babywearing buttons had to come down from the sidebar of my home here online during my recent redesign by the fabulous Alita Jewel.
Not because I don't passionately believe in the benefits of breastfeeding and babywearing and the basic tenants of AP such as loving and respecting each person in the family no matter how tiny
but because I don't see you as a breastfeeding mom or a formula feeding mom
a babywearing mom versus a stroller-pushing mom
an AP or a Babywise mom.
I see you
I see me as
whole people
who are loved beyond our modest understanding.
We are more.
More than our parenting choices.
More than our jobs.
More than our self-professed roles.
We are valued
and chosen
and wildly loved
and complexly created
by a Master Artist.
I wasn't planning to explain the facelift here but timing seems serendipitous as my online home was revamped just a week before the controversial Time magazine cover of a mother nursing her toddler son with a cover story title asking Are You Mom Enough? began yet another firestorm. {I'm not linking there, but you can search it if you'd like.}
And I'd like,
if I could, to answer
that for us all
regardless of if we nurse
by bottle or breast
when we are nourishing our loves with love --
that, no,
we are not mom enough.
we are more
because we are beloved beyond belief.
Thank you for helping to foster an atmosphere of respect between moms! I am a mom who loves her kids and is just trying to care for them in the unique way that each individual child needs and I as an individual can provide. Let's throw out those negative extreme labels such as "barbaric" "abusive" "hippy" or "freakish". Discussing different parenting methods can help moms find the best fit for them, but battling like gladiators, "to the death", helps no one!
ReplyDeleteYes! Exactly!
DeleteBeautiful! I totally agree….we are all not really enough, yet so much more than enough. The redesign looks lovely by the way…..
ReplyDeleteYes, Jenn, yes. It's such a paradox.
Deletei love this, lady:)
ReplyDeleteThank you; such a weighty compliment coming from you.
DeleteOh wow - standing and applauding. Amen and amen. This is fantastic. And in just five minutes? Wonderful!
ReplyDelete~Lisa-Jo
Thank you. I've been writing this in my head today and I didn't set a timer ... Just wrote for about five or so minutes. The Spirit seemingly took over my hands. :)
DeleteThis is fantastic. Beautifully fantastic.
ReplyDeleteThank you for that encouragement!
DeleteYes.
ReplyDeleteWord.
DeleteLovely.
ReplyDeleteThis is so beautifully said and so true. I've been thinking about how I present myself on facebook lately - because, you're so right - we are NOT defined by those labels and those choices shouldn't be used to decide whether we are good moms or not. This is perfect.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely piece of writing. It was a privilege to read it.
ReplyDeleteI love the new design. And well said Hy.
ReplyDeleteI love the new design. And well said Hy.
ReplyDeleteAmen.
ReplyDelete