Iron Mom?

February 12, 2009 – 1:11 pm |

Reading Margaret Atwood’s Cat’s Eye last night, I came upon the following striking line:

“Because I am a mother, I am capable of being shocked: as I never was when I was not one.”

 The passage itself, and in the context of the protaganist grappling with her own personal history, conveys a concept I struggle with a lot:  How do we juxtapose our personal identity and worldview with the Job of Mom?   

For me, becoming a mother was like putting on a robotic helmet – envision Iron Man or Terminator.  I see the world as I normally would, but now with extras: facts and information  in digital red lettering springing  up in my peripheral vision  “DANGER” “UNSAFE” “OFFENSIVE”.

I used to see bare midriffs in music videos and covet the stars’ flat abs.  Now, I still covet,  but I also see flashing margin notes: terrible message for girls.  Or, while reminiscing about my own youth in facebook (as is today’s fashion) I think “what fun” and “no regrets” at the same time “Note to self re: teenage years: Not as innocent as she may appear,” gets bookmarked with a tab at the top of my mask.  Lofty ideas for gender equity and free choice hit me one way as a person and differently as a mother.   How’s it all playing out for you?