PH, you are the man when capturing the sentiment.
Here is for all the mothers out there, young and experienced. This is what I gathered this morning when my wife and her friends were enjoying their Sunday coffee at my house. My mother was invited and the talk went like this.
Motherhood.
The most horribly self sacrificing job in the world.
It was as if mother nature was a kind but then cruelly stern boss. Letting women frolic for awhile, then wham, time to clock in.
A twenty-four seven, three sixty-five day a year job, lasting for eighteen or more years. Thankless, and often brutal, especially at the beginning.
BUT.
What God or Mother Nature takes away in terms of freedom, and living lives as pleased, she gives you a gift.
That baby(ies).
That little bundle of selfish. It's cuteness was by design. That shitting, pissing, constantly hungry for food, attention, or just stimulation.
It does not love you, until it grows, and understands.
With this gift, comes a terrible burden. But God or Mother Nature is not so cruel to just hand you this heavy weight and wander off.
No.
They pulled out a key.
While that key seals your freedom a bit, it unlocked a wide range of abilities that most women who don't have kids will never access.
Abilities:
Innate understanding of your bundles needs.
A cry. Its Hungry.
A cry, it needs changing.
A cry, its scared, lonely, in pain, etc.
Who normally could even begin to understand that cry?
A father? no. Mimicry of the Mother at best.
A mother.
Not just knowing whats wrong, she has access to a strength that even body builders, workers and strong people wish they had.
Double carry two toddlers out of a messy room they destroyed. Piece of cake.
Picking up a truck that flipped and was about to crush your baby. Not even a sweat. (This was a real story. I forgot where it was, but the woman flipped the truck off of her baby in its car seat.Correct me if I am wrong.)
Walking five miles in the freezing cold with your baby pressed against your body. Like a walk in the park.
Stomping a hole in a mans chest when he tried to steal your purse, while you were holding your baby, Not this time, punk. This one was one of the best stories I read. She broke the mans sternum, if I recall correctly, with her high heel. Not an easy task to to, since its a strong bone to protect your chest goodies inside. Damn, mother nature, you scary.
In my opinion, this modern attitude that treats words like "Biological Imperative" like dirty words is foolish. We are animals. Not so far removed, only by the graces of society and sometimes intelligence born from survival necessity that we are even here today. Do not forget, We have 13 names in our scientific classifications.
But in my humble two cents, Mothers can freely tap into that long hidden, primordial urges, the deepest will to survive to carry forth in protecting that little snot wad who wont stop forcing his sister to eat dirt. Or that little asshole who took a hanging drop light and left it on, lying on his grandmothers brand new 1500 dollar carpet, and burned a nice sized hole in it. (Me) Or the boy, who got in trouble at school for biting a girl who bit him first, decided to do a wwe dive off of the barstool in his grandmothers kitchen onto the dishwasher door. (me, again.)
Not just strength, but stamina.
That ungodly, "where am i getting all this energy, even though I am about to drop?" energy that not even red bull, coffee or ginseng can compare too.
The kind of energy that allows a mom to work a full shift, come home, have a meal ready, kids fed, cleaned up and wearing out their energy, a baby who needs a bottle, and a diaper change, a school aged kid who just cant understand long addition, a girl who is sad because a boy on the playground said a mean thing to her, and her husband who is not even remotely as tired as you.
That evil energy.
You think its a lie, but just look at what you can accomplish before you had kids, and then the worlds you conquer after.
And even when you finally settle down for the night. The air is cool and still. All the carpet demons are asleep, and you put your head to your pillow. You sigh, and in the four hours of sleep you get, seems to recharge you more than a full nights sleep. Because new carpet demon wakes up hungry and needing a change. Hubby did it last night, and to be honest, the bastard can do it until the end of time for all you care, because you need sleep, but in a flash you are holding your spawn, bouncing and burping and giving that gentle aura, despite being dog tired to the point where you feel like body parts are going to come off. But you do it. You love them. Not the passing love you shared with your own mother, no, this love is deeper. This love is the love of a mother, who while her kids are running to safety will stand in the path of the danger, bare her fangs, and fight, even knowing she had no hope of winning. And you do it with that angry, reassuring smile to your children, a way of saying "Its gonna be fine, go on, get out of here." As you turn around ready to go full Mortal Kombat on the danger. Without even a shred of self preservation.
Why?
Because those are your babies.
You made them.
You nurtured them to a semi maturity.
All of the effort.
But a thousand times more love.
Even if they say things like "I hate you, mom."
Even if they become flippant, disrespectful, and arrogant towards you.
You love them.
Even if they hurt you.
You will fight the world for them.
So to you mothers I say this:
You are far stronger than I ever hope to be.
Far smarter than I will ever be.
Far more gentle than I can be.
In less words.
Motherhood is essentially the final evolution of humanity. Surpassing limits that we thought we never had.
To all the Mothers today, rest well, you have earned it a hundred times over. My deepest respects.