Don't Let Moms Go Out of Style

The millions of dollars spent on cards, candy, and flowers this past Sunday remind us of how much we respect and revere our mothers. The ironic thing is, as time goes on, so few of us actually want to be one.

According to a recent study, 43 percent of women aged 33-46 do not have children and the trend to go childless is only increasing. Reasons for choosing this lifestyle include the desire to further pursue a career, not wanting to spend a ton of time and money on children, or to focus on developing themselves as an individual. These are all good reasons, and believe me, I’ve thought them all through once or twice, but there are a few things I just can’t get past.

Photo from flickr.com by Din Jimenez

First, I realized that outside of financial reasons I am going to school so that I can learn how to change lives and be an influence on the world around me. After all, who doesn’t? This got me thinking about who has had the biggest impact on me, and I realized it wasn’t a company CEO or top dog journalist, but my own mother. After all, she taught me how to read, write, stay organized, have confidence, do laundry, and never give up. She changed the lives of my siblings and I all without the prestige of traveling the world to negotiate peace treaties. With that kind of influence, I would assuredly say that the fate of the world’s future lies in the hands of all mothers, and how awesome would it be to have that kind of influence? For this reason, I would never encourage someone to drop out of college or not go altogether to be a mother. Those who don’t believe that stay-at-home moms need an education should be reminded that educated mothers equals educated children and educated children equals a better future for our world.

Photo from flickr.com by Steven Depolo

The second reason is hard to explain, but the best example I can think of comes from a friend’s wedding I went to this past weekend. As soon as music started to play at the reception, my friend’s new husband and his whole family rushed to the dance floor and broke their moves. There were enough smiles and enough laughter to make the world go around. As I sat there and watched, I realized that no job promotion, no exotic vacation, and no amount of time to myself could equate to that type of happiness, and I wanted it.

Being a mom is by no means glamorous and is seriously undervalued, but I know that the influences that I could make and the happiness that could come out of it would be undeniably worth it. So before you make any definite life plans, at least consider the possibility of life as a mom.