babies Archives - CONSIDER THIS Radio Show with Annette Petrick

Backstory

The role of mother has always been pivotal. Even more so in times like a global pandemic and dangerous disruption. Mothers are called on to calm fears, provide balance, keep moving things in the right direction. And they do. This is for you.

Private Moments for Mom

This is a little private moment for the mothers in our audience. Did you ever think you’d be able to nurse a baby, cook dinner, and sew a button on a shirt, all at the same time? Where did we learn how to do things like that?

What magical power was bestowed upon us for the years when our families needed us 24/7? Where did we get the patience to sit and rock for hours on end soothing a crying baby who refused to be comforted? Sometimes we know exactly what to do . . . and sometimes we don’t.

So this is for mothers whose children have gone astray, who can’t find the words to reach them. This is for all the mothers who taught their children to be peace-loving and now pray they come home safely from a war.

The emotions of motherhood are universal and our thoughts today are for young mothers stumbling through diaper changes and sleep deprivation, and mature mothers learning to let go. For working mothers and stay-at-home mothers. Single moms and married moms. Mothers with money, mothers without.

Hang in there. In the end, we can only do the best we can. Tell them every day that we love them and show them besides. And pray and never stop being a mom. No, never stop.

P.S. As Mother’s Day approaches and you consider a gift for your mom, put at the top of the list – time with her. Go shopping with her, take her to the park, cook her favorite dinner – together. Realize that YOU are the best gift she could get.

[Show #288]

Backstory

My story tells of meeting the three babies together last summer. It was actually two summers ago, when we could still interact and hug and cuddle. I have such fond memories of three generations converging on that summer day with stories, laughter and love.

Three Baby Boys

They were born just months apart; three grand-babies for my lucky sister. It was such a surprise when her married children announced they were all pregnant, one after the other. She could not wait to have all three babies in one place at one time.

This summer it happened. The whole family gathered – from Chicago, New Jersey, Virginia – and celebrated the first birthdays of all three babies.

It was amazing how different they all were. One was already walking – toddling around the picnic grounds as independent as you please. One had a look of fine concentration; like he was taking everything in and had profound unspoken knowledge. The third was complacent and charming, smiling all the while and cuddling with anyone who offered their hands to hold him.

I was thinking my future and yours lies in the hands of these three baby men, and thousands like them who are just coming into our world, our society, our environment. What values will they have as they grow up? What morals will they uphold? What will the world expect of them?

The only thing I could predict for sure is that they will all be different from the way I was brought up. Very different. Better? Worse? History has yet to tell.

But as I kissed their sweet cheeks and felt the warmth of their smiles, I felt that my future was in good hands.

P.S.

The boys’ adulthoods will be lived in a world that is swiftly changing under our feet. They will learn a new kind of balance and be judged by vastly different rules and norms. Their language will be different, along with the way they see the world and how they are entertained. Parents and grandparents will be left in the dust of comprehension – just as we left the two generations behind us.

[Show #303]