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A Mother’s Hug
(2 minute read)
Here in the UK it is Mothering Sunday. It is our day to celebrate mothers everywhere, whoever they may be. I am privileged to be mother to four beautiful children, 1 boy and 3 girls. For obvious reasons, though I am incredibly proud of them all, I don’t post their images on here; except this one. This is me and my eldest daughter doing what mothers and daughters everywhere love to do; to hug and to celebrate our relationship.
Motherhood is one of the most precious gifts in the world. It is a calling way higher than any star performer, world leader or billionaire CEO. This is the really big one. It is why we girls are here; the biological imperative that drives us - the G-d vouchsafed ability to bring forth new life. We give birth to a new baby who will carry the world forward into a future whose limits we will not see. For Jewish mothers like myself, motherhood fulfills G-d’s first commandment to mankind: ‘Go forth and multiply!’.
Some of you reading this are trad wives like myself or aspiring trad wives. Some of you long for that proposal of marriage and the chance to dutifully serve your future husband; loving honouring and obeying his guidance and will. Some of you are still looking for that special guy who is a real patriarchal man. Some of you are planning your weddings right now. Most of us trad girls, from the moment we start our periods and even before, know what our calling and destiny is. We dream of a white wedding, of a wonderful husband. That however is just the threshold of family life: The next step is a family.
I grew up an only child. I always begged for siblings but never had any (until I married). I was often lonely even though I had the combined love of both my parents. I was told that I could be anything I wanted to be and that being a girl needn’t hold me back. What I actually chose was the best possible career ever: marriage and motherhood.
I always wanted to be a Mum and have as many kids as I could. Indeed I could hardly wait. I turned my back on academia at 19 and got married instead. I knew that I could catch up later if I needed and I did. My feminist mother was devastated though! Ambitious Jewish mothers who want their daughter to do something great are little prepared for her to 'do nothing’.
Except, being a mother ISN’T doing nothing! Taken seriously, if like me, you choose to be a Stay at Home Mum, you will have so much to do. Your children’s BEST carer is YOU. A childminder is a poor temporary substitute for the real thing. You can breastfeed your child, give hugs to them, cook them proper meals (made from scratch), read to them, sing to them, bathe them, carry them, hug them, wipe their sticky fingers, draw with them, paint with them, play with them, pray with them, teach them, bake with them and just BE THERE for them. True, I can’t guarantee it will be all hearts and flowers. You will also need to patiently deal with their tantrums, teething, colic, nappy rash; their terrible twos, their childhood ailments; their school fall outs and tears, their first crushes and disappointments, their life crises and all the rest. This job, if you choose to accept it however, will be the most important thing you ever do. When you have done it once, I hope that you and your husband (or husband to be) will want to do it again and again; growing your beautiful family.
When you conceive in the joy of love with your husband, it is the start of something momentous and great. True, morning sickness is a pain in the first trimester; being reduced to waddling as you near full term feels embarrassing too but this is actually what your wonderful body was designed to do. You were made to be your baby’s safe haven for 39-40 weeks and your baby’s food provider from then on. As a breastfeeding mother you can carry on as long as you want (as long as you stay at home to do it), even beyond 6 months when they start on solids. If you want to a medical justification, every year you carry on breastfeeding reduces your breast cancer risk by 4%. You can even breastfeed (with medical help) if you are planning to be an adoptive Mum. Being a SAHM helps you to give your child the very best start in life and you will see every moment, from first smile to first steps and words.
So here’s to all Mums, to all aspiring Mums, to Mums to Be and to those who long for motherhood; to those adoptive Mums, to those aching to conceive and to anyone else who takes on this sacred, G_d given role: Blessings to you all!
Janey xx
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Three Is Magic
No one told me three would be this beautiful.Everyone warned me about three.They said it with knowing looks and little half laughs.“Oh just wait until she’s three.”“Three is when the attitude starts.”“Threenagers are something else.”What nobody told me is that three is perfection.Three is a tiny voice yelling from the other room, “I WILL DO IT MYSELF!” while struggling to pull on shoes that are…
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our little daughter diana… or i say baby diana
so what happen to legendary warrior in digital world or sunamon can see her, so she make clam down a crying and being stop so little our about at koji & takuya ❤️
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Collins Family Photos
Alfred, Chizuko, and their children, Genzo Abel, Aaron Riku, and Midori Avis.
Aaron Riku, Genzo Abel, and Midori Avis Collins.
Aaron Riku, Genzo Abel, and Midori Avis Collins.
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Hope Is a Powerful Thing
If you had asked me a year ago how I was doing, I probably would have smiled and said I was fine.Most moms do.We’re good at it.At smiling.At showing up.At packing snacks, wiping tears, making dinner, remembering appointments, loving our babies with every ounce of our being… while quietly carrying things inside our own minds that nobody else can see.The truth is, for a long time I haven’t felt…
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Reencontrar essa musica, agora como adulta, doeu mais que levar canto de porta no dedinho…
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okay actually I think my mom hates me like I asked her to meet my best friend she said no she Never allowes me to go out beside for studying
I‘m gonna die in this House
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Is Treach’s Daughter, Egypt Criss’s Knockout Loss A Cautionary Tale?
Jade Jones is known for being a two-time Olympic Taekwondo gold medalist. Her opponent, Egypt Criss, is known for being the daughter of hip hop music legends Anthony ‘Treach’ Criss of Naughty By Nature and Sandra ‘Pepa’ Denton from the group Salt-N-Pepa.
To make the transition from taekwondo to boxing, Jade Jones trained with former British and Commonwealth featherweight champion Stephen ‘Swifty’…
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The Night She Slept and I Didn’t
Last night our daughter had a sleep study.
If you’ve never experienced one, imagine a tiny hospital room that feels somewhere between a hotel and a science lab. Dim lights. Quiet monitors. A narrow bed for your child and a parent bed that promises rest but never quite delivers it.
And then imagine a three year old with more wires attached to her than seems reasonable for such a small…
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The Small Gate and the Big Adventure
Motherhood has a way of reminding you that control is mostly an illusion.This week, our three year old reminded me of that in the most heart stopping way possible.She went on her first adventure.Alone.Somewhere between a normal moment and the next, she slipped out the front gate. I don’t know if it was curiosity, bravery, or simply the unstoppable spirit that lives inside every small child who…