You may not know this, but I am a firstborn–the firstborn of nine children to be exact. And as such, I tend to like rules and definitions. I love things defined so I know what’s expected of me. It bothers me when things aren’t clear and defined–and shifting definitions really, really bother me. One of those phrases whose definition seems to shift frequently is “embracing the gift of motherhood”. Have you noticed it too? It shifts and morphs; and worse than that, it’s often used solely to demean and manipulate a mother. You know the line . . . “If you would just embrace the gift of motherhood . . . “

Not going to lie here, when I hear the phrase I feel a bit like Buddy in the movie Elf, “What’s a Christmas Gram? I want one!” Yeah, just picture me over here jumping up and down, clapping, and exclaiming “What’s the gift of motherhood? I want one!”

I used to be cool, back in the day. You know, back when I worked at a library {this now qualifies as cool because it was quiet there 😉 and now ya’ll want a job at a library!}, when we owned an SUV, and we had high-speed, unlimited internet {complete with Netflix}. And now, I’m […]