Motherhood

As I exercised this morning I thought about what it takes to be a mother and a wife. I wondered is it a learned behavior or are women born with it? I came to the conclusion after the two examples I witnessed that it is a learned behavior. Moms and wives are good because they had good moms. They are caring and compassionate because they were taught by example.
This weekend I watched my mom do something extraordinary. My dad and mom live separately. They both have their own houses, their own bills, and their own lives. My dad is diabetic and has a problem with his feet. Which I found out was very common with diabetics. His feet have to be cleaned and cared for each day, and each day he would come to my mom’s house to get his feet dressed and washed. It happens everyday, and I later found out it had happened everyday for the past year, sometimes twice a day. She would remove the bandages from the previous day, redress them, and then rub both feet with cream. She has no obligation to do what she did, but she would not consider not doing it. It was amazing. I wondered why. I then thought about her mother, my grandmother. My grandmother would take care of anything. She was a great lady, who served as nurse to everyone who was ailing. She was not a nurse by occupation, but a nurse by nature. My mom learned this from her, and she is now doing the same thing.
Last night about 1:00am, it began to rain, thunder and lightning. It was so bad that it woke me and my wife up. We both got up but we went in separate directions. I went to the bed as I had to get up early; she went to my daughter’s room. I looked in on them this morning, my daughter in her bed, my wife on the floor beside her bed holding her hand. Both were asleep. Once again, I was amazed. I am willing to bet at some point in my wife’s life her mother had done the same for her. It was great to watch. Because of what my wife did, she created an example for my daughter. My daughter will be a wife and mother some day, and because of the example being set for her, she will be a great mother and wife.
Once again, my conclusion is motherhood is a learned behavior. I don’t think you are born with it; it takes a great mother to teach a great mother. I have been blessed with a great mother, my daughter is blessed with a great mother.