Time to begin to record this journey into the world of the sensible mum! I am learning about the exciting world of motherhood and trying to balance the sensible and the fun, the new and the old, the theory and the practice. I thought it would be fun to share this attempt at Commonsense with whomsoever might be interested.
I hope to share my experiences and ponderings. I think this will include some consideration about issues that might face other mothers, other families. I imagine this will include the practical lessons of watching a little person grow and also the impact of my role as parent, as mother, on my experiences of my identity.
Ann Oakley (Becoming a Mother, 1979, p308) is a good place to start in this journey ‘…first-time mothers… discover that it is not just a case of having the baby and carrying on as though nothing had happened: something has happened, a historical event….producing a baby is re-producing, looking differently at one’s body, one’s identity, one’s way of living….And in becoming a mother a woman takes her place among all women, conscious in a new way of the divisions between men and women….Motherhood is a handicap but also a strength; a trial and an error; an achievement and a prize.’ .
What a great first post, Beth.