I’m old enough to recall when you could get in trouble everywhere in your town by any female adult who felt motherly toward you. If someone caught you doing anything immoral, illegal, disrespectful, or even questionable, they were not deterred by the fact that they did not share your particular strand of DNA. Wrong was wrong, and if you were wrong, they felt a social obligation to step in and mother you occasionally. That was the downside.
The upside was that you also had a cadre of women who would love, support, and encourage you in areas where your own mother did not have a background for input. This is the aspect of having Other Mothers that allows young women to excel and spread their wings beyond their own heritage. When women who are not bound to you by relational duty look into your life and tell you that you are gifted, you tend to listen to and believe them primarily because they aren’t your mom.
You may be a woman who needs an Other Mother. You might be a woman with Other Mothering to give. Truth is, you’re probably both. I hope you will seek out the Other Mothers you need and give Other Mothering liberally to the girls coming up the path behind you.
—Anita Renfroe
No comments:
Post a Comment