Of One Good Mother

After yesterday's rant, I wanted to change gears a little and share a story I found to be deeply inspiring about the influence of a woman.

One of the most remarkable examples of the sphere and influence a mother has is the life of Sarah Edwards, the wife of Jonathan Edwards, a minister and early colonist. Sarah raised eleven children while her husband busied himself with writing and ecclesiastical duties, becoming the famous one of the family. She stayed in the background as a homemaker--valuing each child's individuality and intelligence, educating both sons and daughters, but also teaching them to work responsibly. A genealogical study later tracked down 1400 of the descendants and compared them to another family who were notorious for criminality and welfare dependency. The Jukes family cost the State of New York a total of $1,250,000 in welfare and custodial charges, while the Edwards descendants boasted the following: 13 college presidents, 65 professors, 100 lawyers and a dean of an outstanding law school, 80 holders of public office, 3 U.S. Senators, mayors of three large cities, governors of three states, a Vice President of the U.S. and a controller of the U.S. Treasury, not to mention the countless numbers who were successful in business and the arts. Only two of these 1,400 were 'black sheep,' which eloquently testifies to the power of one great women." (Elisabeth D. Dodds, Marriage to a Difficult Man: The "Uncommon Union" of Sarah and Jonathan Edwards)

Talk about validation of a mother! Here's my hats off to all good women out there, who are somehow able to see beyond the endless piles of laundry, who clean mess after mess, cook, manage finances, change diapers, read to and love their children, teach them, and are able to find deep meaning and joy in their role as a mother, despite motherhood often being looked down upon in society. Your contribution is immense, more then you may ever realize in your lifetime. Make no mistake, you good mothers change the world, one poopy diaper at a time. (-; Yeah, I know, way to end on an eloquent note--I just couldn't resist!