soul of a woman

Filed in archive Politics of Parenting on October 20, 2005

When I was pregnant I naively thought that I would be the unique hybrid version of the perfect mom-wife-woman addition. like those we see on Pampers TV ads and who are so comfortable wiping other people's babies' butts. but it has been something completely other than that. becoming a mother has enabled me to grow and evolve as a person but definitely not like I had expected. birthing children has developed a profound sense of compassion in me, not only for other mothers, but for the woman condition in general. I hear words such as breast cancer, children custody and single mother and I just know. no, I can't possibly know. but I feel.

I feel the frustration, the anxiety, the doubt, the exhaustion and despair. but I also feel the courage, determination and hope. writing on this blog I have never been prouder to be a woman. we mother. we cure. we save. we juggle with more than two jobs to feed our children. we defend. we teach. we manage to pursue a career and raise happy kids. we love. we love so much. we have flaws and imperfections yet we see astounding beauty when others only see the ordinary. we are emotional. we fall but we always rise up again. eventually, we always triumph.

In my fantasy world, no woman is hurt. they live freely for the joy of giving, loving and dancing. they face no adversity, emotional or physical pain or trials of any kind. and they are never, ever separated from their children. but such world does not exist. and life is difficult. and so unfair. for all of us. but I am stunned. I am amazed. because every minute someone in this world is birthed, healed, loved and blessed. every second a life is reinvented and finds a sense of purpose because of a woman. we are more than we think we are. we can do far more than we think we do. I think God has given us something that drives us even when there's no visible hope. I believe it is a woman's soul.


via Creative Reporter,

Irene Nam is a writer living in Paris surviving twinshock, blank page days and dog poop. You can read about her life on her personal blog www.irenenam.squarespace.com