Writing Prompt #54
When Motherhood is Painful
Mothers long to do good by their children, but circumstances can get in the way
From my time as both a child and a young mother, marrying and having children was simply expected. But motherhood does not come naturally to all women.
Let me begin by saying that I love, respect, and admire Mum. This October she will turn 88. She lives in a small house by herself (Da, who would have turned 90 this weekend, died about 12 years ago). She volunteers at a thrift store three days a week and when it’s warm, she goes to the public pool to exercise, also three days every week. She has a circle of friends who love her dearly, and for whom she is always there. Together they go out to enjoy local music talent. Overall, she’s pretty amazing.
It wasn’t always this way, though.
Teenage daughters and their mothers are notorious for fighting with each other. But it was more than that for us. Mum struggled to be a mom. Her parents, especially her father, were painfully tough on her. Her parents would also violently fight with one another, and she would find herself in the midst of it. Her father (whom I remember as a kind grandfather) actually changed the date on her birth certificate so that she could drive before she should to work…
