I Can Be
  

I Can Be

As a young mother in the grocery store, my mom ran into a person who knew her from an earlier stage of her life. He asked her what she had been up to since she had finished her education. She explained that she had taught school for a while until her first baby (that’d be me) was born. Then she quit teaching to be a stay-at-home-mother. The man responded with, “What a waste of your education.”

I could not disagree with him more.


When I was young, I knew what I wanted to grow up to be. There was one person I knew who I looked up to, that had the perfect job, the perfect role. I watched her daily. I appreciated her selfless acts. I loved her for the love she showed me.

She taught me the importance of gaining an education (we both got University degrees). She taught me that women can do anything they choose. She showed me that motherhood ranked higher, for her, than an extra income. She showed me that her children were the most important thing to her. She was there for us always.

I have always just known that that was what I wanted. I wanted to be a mother. I wanted to be there for my children and home as much as my circumstances would allow. I cannot put into words how happy I am to have had her as a role model, and to be blessed to be in a position to stay home with my children.

I realize that this is not a choice that all women are able to make, even if they wish to. I also realize that there may come a time for those of us who are stay at home moms that we will need to go out and have a career. I think it’s important for us to teach our girls that they can be whatever they want to be, period. That applies to choosing a career and to anything else in life. I also think that while we’re teaching them about all of the career choices out there, and the importance of education, we need to be careful to make sure that they know that there is nothing wrong with not having a career while they choose to mother.

I am writing on this topic because a brand new website called Barbie I Can Be The Voice is being launched that is dedicated to helping parents with the task of raising their daughters to be smarter, stronger, happier, and more fulfilled. Terry Carson, a Canadian parenting coach, will be sharing new themes and parenting tips and ideas each month on the website. In one of her articles on the site, Terry says:
"Over the next year I will support you in building your skills to raise daughters who have, to use an old fashioned term, character—girls that have strong values, are self-reliant, and know how to build on their strengths; girls who are motivated to follow their dreams without fear; girls who can embrace their mistakes as learning experiences."

Sounds good to me- I look forward to seeing what discussions take place on the site- wanna check it out with me?

Disclosure – I am participating in the Barbie I Can Be campaign by Mom Central Canada on behalf of Mattel Canada. I received compensation as a thank you for my participation. The opinions on this blog are my own.

4 comments:

  1. Ouch, that opening quote stings. I can relate to your story and thank you for sharing. I gave up teaching, (which was the main love of my life for 10 years) after my daughter was born in 2009. I know first hand that little ones are not little for long, I wanted to give 100% to her for as long as possible. And knew that I couldn't give 100% to teaching as well. Very few understand that personal choice and even fewer respect it. Welcome to the I Can Be Campaign, I'm doing a post too.

    Good to meet you,
    Amy

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  2. When I finished my under graduate degree I had big plans...I wanted to pursue my goals in education, maybe law, English? - medicine?...I had so many interests and directions I wanted to follow I could barely pick one direction... and then I was handed my newborn son. My dream of Motherhood shone the brightest and I could think of nothing more enriching, rewarding and worth my energy then taking everything I knew and a whole lot that I didn't and put it into raising inedible men. There is no amount of money that could take me away from this amazing opportunity.
    Like your mom I was once asked if I worried if I was "wasting my education". the question not only reflects the sad state of our cultural priorities but also the ignorance of many who don't know what it takes to raise children with everything you have.
    My children ARE my education.

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  3. Thanks Amy! I checked out your blog & left a comment there fo ryou :)

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  4. Jenn, thanks for commenting- and I think our educations get put to great use as we stay home and mother!

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Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment- I love reading them! :)
~Heather Lynne

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