Two sides of motherhood

There are two sides of motherhood.

One side is the responsibilities - thousands of things to do and worry about, feeding, diapering, nail clipping, story-telling, washing and sterilizing bottles (and the toys), choosing toys, picking outfits, washing clothes, replacing all kinds of supplies, child-proofing the house, deciding where to take the child to on weekends, adjusting to the changing feeding patterns, ... and above all, putting the child to sleep every night! In general, it's like taking on another job, though more exhausting than most other jobs, and you tend to be more worried that you may not have done an adequate job.

The other side is the sheer fact that you have brought this little individual into the world, who is going to develop into his/her own person. When I put my daughter to sleep at night, often times I also go to sleep with her, at about 8 -9 pm. Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night, and do housework, or catch up with some work, or simply relax by surfing the Internet. Every now and then, I would go to check on her. And there she is, in her crib, sleeping like an angel. You can't help being amazed that this little thing, 72 cm long and 19.6 lb in weight to be precise, has so much power on the lives of the people around her. You also can't help thinking about all the possibilities in front of her, some pretty certain - such as that she is going to be able to walk and talk, while others more uncertain - such as what profession she is going to enter and who are the people she is going to meet. During these quiet moments, I savor the meaning of motherhood - it is something so significant that it is almost surreal. And the sharp contrast between the philosophical side and the mundane side of motherhood leaves me even more in awe. Being a mother is so commonplace, and yet it has such profound effects on another person's life.

Sometimes the most common things are also the most myterious - for example, time, or motherhood.