“Being a full-time mother is one of the highest salaried jobs in my field, since the payment is pure love. ~Mildred B. Vermont”
So as I was on the subway today I saw a woman with her child. The little girl was absolutely adorable and the mother looked rather young to have a toddler (probably early 20’s). You could see that she was a good mother and that she really cared for her child. The little girl, in turn showed signs of coming from a loving family with all the curiosity and rambunctiousness that toddlers from a secure environment have. Climbing all over the seats, she eventually asked her mother for a hug. It was so endearing to see such genuine affection between a mother and child.
Sweater, n.: garment worn by child when its mother is feeling chilly. ~Ambrose Bierce
It made me start to think on the whole concept of who we are. I realized that this child will probably grow up to be very physically affectionate, like myself. Stemming from the comments others have made to me in the past of what they deemed my overly (and therefore overtly flirty) affectionate personality, I wondered how the norms for this child will change once she meets more in this world of ours. For now her mother is her world. It was evident in the easy affection and connection between the two. It was evident by seeing their pattern of “play.” The little girl laid on her belly across a seat and the mother playfully tapped her bottom as if playing a drum. To them, this was a normal action but to others, they may have thought what a strange thing to do with their child!
Thou art thy mother’s glass, and she in thee
Calls back the lovely April of her prime.
~William Shakespeare
As time goes on I realize more how much our family shapes us. It makes me wonder at the whole concept of love and marriage too because in a way- when you marry someone you meld all your “norms” with their “norms.” They may not understand though, why you do things the way you do. They may not comprehend at first that it’s due to your upbringing that you always do it x way. In a way we daughters are our mothers just in younger form. They form us, show us what is normal and acceptable, and send us out into the world. Clearly there is a melding with the “father’s norms” but it is the mothers who normally spend the most time with the child.
