Mother-Love

I have Ummed and Aahed about the Wisdom of blogging at this tricky time. Am I being selfish, Airing our Dirty Washing in the Public Laundrette that is the blogosphere? Is it fair on the children, on The Husband, to broadcast the little soap opera that unfolds daily? I returned to The Happy Housewife - (that pseudonym was never meant to be quite as ironic as it appears now) - because I needed a forum in which to offload, where my thoughts and concerns would not burden the kids or The Husband at a time when they already carry the heaviest of loads. Selfish? Perhaps.


I also needed A Stern Word.

I am reminded by your emails and comments that, as women, as mothers, we share a Universal Experience. The Unconditional Love we dole out daily, like spoonfuls of medicine to ease life's knocks and bruises, doesn't take away the Bad Things, but it does make them easier to bear. Motherpie - that wise old bird - said it all in her post Skating Through Life? Yeah, Right! We want to believe that a mother's love can change the topography of our children's world, that our kiss can Part the Waves, can leave an Unfettered Path. It can't, but it sure as hell makes those mountains easier to climb. We are doing what we can. We are all doing what we can. There is no time, no need, no call for self-recriminations, for feelings of helpless inadequacy. Now that is selfish. We have a job to do. Mother-love is enough. Thank you all for reminding me.

I know it doesn't stop us worrying about our brood, it doesn't remove the nagging uncertainties that claw away at our mother-hearts, the invisible umbilicus that ties us to our babies forever, however old and wise they may grow... but it is all we can do.

So after a momentary blip, a sef-indulgent whine, I pick myself up and get on with loving. Thank you all for sharing the Womanly Wisdom! This is why I came back. So, guess what is for dinner tonight? Shepherd's Pie! The culinary equivalent of a sticking plaster.