penandpatience

WRITERS WORDS: “I am sure that if the Mothers

 of various nations could meet, there would be no more wars.”  -E.M. Forster

MAY 2020 MONTHLY MUSING

THE HAND THAT ROCKS THE CRADLE…….

     May blooms with spring flowers after April showers and celebrates motherhood in all its definitions.   Mothers’ Day, this year is celebrated on Sunday, May 10^th, the annual day for honoring Moms. Mothers, comprised of all races, religions, backgrounds, countries, philosophies and parenting styles, are raising children within their individual perceptions and beliefs.  Generally, they share basic commonalities–mothers love and want what’s best for their offspring.

Moms do not come in one size fits all. They are biological, adoptive, foster, step-mothers, grandmothers, Aunts or other family or non-family females raising motherless children. Motherhood has changed with each generation. My mother, born in the early 20th century, (1902) gave birth to five children. Large families were common in her era and birth control, as we know it today, didn’t exist. Lucky for me. I was third in line😊 Her motherhood tools were breastfeeding, bassinet, baby carriage, crib and family doctor.  Mothers during those years feared childhood polio. Initially, there was no Salk Vaccine and it wasn’t until grade school that I and other children were vaccinated to prevent it. Motherhood in mid-century was a little easier.  I was blessed with three children and was fortunate to spend their childhood years as a stay-at-home Mom. After each birth, I was brought to my car in a wheelchair and, after safely ensconced in the front passenger seat, the nurse handed me my newborn. We drove home with me holding my precious bundle in the front seat. Horrors! The baby car seat was plastic and had metal poles that fit over the back of the seat. Again, the front passenger seat. (more Horrors) I fed the babies formula, washed diapers and hung them on an outdoor clothesline. (remember?) later utilizing a new dryer. I was blessed in the early months with diaper service and, although disposable diapers were available then, they were not the quality available today.

Today’s Moms are blessed with new technologies, safety regulations, advanced medical knowledge/techniques along with improved childhood products and services. However, motherhood continues to be a challenging role in this 21^st century and these developments have created new along with past concerns. (i.e. bullying, drug abuse, vaping, school terror attacks) Mama bears fight to protect their cubs. They take actions against prejudices, inequalities, biases, unfairness and any injustices they deem harmful. (Fortunately, my generation did not have the new awareness of climate change, gun controls, terrorism and now, the earth shattering Corona-virus)

Earlier generations of women often lamented, “it’s a man’s world.”  My mother, and I still miss her, believed in women’s strengths and abilities. She’d say, “Never forget, the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world.”  Females give birth to mankind. Mothers raise sons. Mothers raise daughters.  I read the following poem in a Poetry Booklet received from my daughter and is now located in my home library: “The Heart of a Mother,” by Janice Lewis Clark.

The Hand That Rocks the Cradle

Blessings on the hand of women!

Angels guard its strength and grace,

In the palace, cottage, hovel,

Oh, no matter where the place;

Would that never storms assailed it,

Rainbows ever gently curled;

For the hand that rocks the cradle

Is the hand that rules the world.

Blessings on the hand of women!

Fathers, sons and daughters cry,

And the sacred song is mingled

With the worship in the sky—

Mingles where no tempest darkens

Rainbows evermore hurled;

For the hand that rocks the cradle

Is the hand that rules the world.

—William Ross Wallace, 1819-1881

 MOMS ARE PANDEMIC FRONT LINE HEROS! KUDOS TO MOMS DURING

THIS DIFFICULT TIME.  HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!   BE WELL!