women's work part II

so this morning I got stirred to posted on a friend's blog, the tone is very different from this one (and usually I just read the events)- I thought I would share it- it just speaks to my mothering at the moment which I need to include in my [art]work

tereza June 3rd, 2008 at 1:29 pm
Oh Boy,Where do I begin to chime in on this one?
What things to say and to what end?
pausing.. a child needs attention- let’s begin where it ended; stealing fifteen minutes. Hmm, with a child (just one in my case) who does not nap anymore but does require help, play, cuddling, tending to, wiping butt, talking to, cooking for, driving here and there… where would I get 15 uninterrupted minutes? Then multiply by three. I would be surprised if SilliGirl found five minutes to herself- for you see the little ones like to check in even on the toilet.
pausing.. to help get the doll out of the stroller, kiss a bonk, and pick up a dress on the floor…the next slide remark- it happened when you became a mom. Your darned right- it sure does, doesn’t it. Wow moms and dads, how do you describe it? It’s quite a shift, you awake (or 20 hours after labor) with a child in arms and the whole perspetive of looking out into the world is completely different. Everything is not in relation to you, as the one, but you as a unit- you’ve branched out.
pausing to help my daughter through our weaning process… the closest thing i can relate it to is splitting yourself- take your leg or better yet your heart take it out of your body- now look out, the perspective completely changes. Do you see? (Again here multiply - or split in this case- by three) Of course you are not the same person- one will never be. You have gone from a twig to being a tree.
and with all the metaphors this means you grow to being more than you have ever been and at the same time you grow in the round- with all the paranoia, lunacy, fears and anger- all the undesirable qualities are there as well.
can’t get into canning for I unfortunately do not have much experience in this process- can only imagine it is no picnic.
pausing.. to give my child more crackers, which were spilled, then to vacuum, set her up with some water colors…Mamma, all I know is that you can and do breathe through the moments. I enjoy reading about it!