Monday, May 13, 2019

A shout out to my two favorite moms

First, hat tip to my actual Mom, who chose to have me, and for that I am glad.   Contrary to pro-abortion rhetoric, abortions have not been as numerous as the post-Roe era.  True, they were picking up in the 1960s, and true, since they were mostly illegal, it's difficult to have exact figures.  But the figures we have suggest that the numbers in the pre-60s were nowhere near close to what they were in the late 60s, much less in the 1 million plus/year that has defined the post-Roe era.

In the midst of this seismic shift in American morality, my Mom chose to have me.  Which isn't surprising.  They lost their second child, and that was after waiting eight years before they were able to have my older sister.  I came eight years later, when they were in their mid-30s.  That set me apart from many of my friends and classmates, whose parents were usually ten to fifteen years younger than my parents.  In fact, a great many were the children of Baby Boomers, as opposed to my parents who had been born and raised in the Great Depression.  I've often thought that tension of 'God Bless America' being a song of great importance or being sarcastically referenced had a big impact on me.

But for my part, I thank them both.  They were great parents.  Not perfect by a long shot, but they both put us kids first.  Mom was the consummate mother, who would have taken a bullet for her kids without thinking.  Dad was less committal on that front, but would likely have done the same.

That's what makes my own wife such a gem.  She's the working girl now, as I am home with our youngest being home schooled, and my Mom needing daily care.  She would rather be at home, and has often lamented needing to work.  It's just how the chips have fallen.  Nonetheless, she is a full team player.  We are a partnership and we do what we need for the boys.  And she does it for my Mom.  And that is motherly too. 

My own bride with the gang

My Mom with all of her grand kids and great-grand kids

2 comments:

  1. There's a quote from Dune I've always remembered:

    “There is probably no more terrible instant of enlightenment than the one in which you discover your father is a man - with human flesh.”

    I think though there is a second enlightenment which the book doesn't go over. That moment when you grow older and realize your parents were only human - and still did a miraculous job.

    Then they become superheroes again.

    I see a lot of pride on those mothers' eyes up there. It is well earned.

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    1. Yep, they do. As I said, despite my parents' missteps (one being moving every couple years for no other reason than to move every couple years), they always had our best interests at heart. That's what we tried to do with my boys. You can't be perfect, but you can focus on them.

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