Raising Girls

So I’ve been thinking, and the other day I had an epiphany. You see, I’m raising three girls in a very tough world. My goals and aspirations for them are much like any other mom out there. I think the greatest thing they could do when they “grow up” is to be a mom.

I had a conversation the other day with my five year old. It went something like this:
“Hey Gabriela, what do you want to be when you grow up?” and she said, “MOM, don’t you remember…I’m going to be a dentist!” Oh yeah, I thought, then I said, “Well do you want to be a Mommy when you grow up?” She just sort of looked at me and said “Yeah.” That’s when it hit me…like a rock over the head. We have been trained since we are tiny little people that we need to pick some fabulous career when we are little tikes. Our society puts so much emphasis on careers and success and that all our education is to help us reach said career or status. I never in all my life heard someone say, “Wow Lindsay, all that college will sure help you be a good stay at home mom! Motherhood is an awesome career, way to go!” And somehow when we do decide to stay at home, do we sometimes feel a little disappointed, like we never really achieved our goal or got that great job we had been planning our whole lives around?

I decided right then and there, that I was not going to raise my girls that way. I want them to know that motherhood is the greatest thing they could do with their lives, and all the education they receive will give them experience and knowledge, and if they have the opportunity to work before having children, that is awesome, but really emphasize and stress that the greatest success and accomplishment will be within their own home.

So instead of asking, “what do you want to be when you grow up?” it might go something like, “what do you want to learn about when you grow up?” Emphasis on learning not on a job or title. Maybe then, my girls will really feel the success and joy of reaching their goal when they become mothers.