Family Issues - Womens Issues: A Woman's Contribution
by Shawnee Bowlin
FeedTheVillage.com - Family Issues - Womens Issues: A Woman's Contribution
There was a time when I felt like the lowest on the scale of worthwhile women. I had an inferiority complex about being 'just a mom'. I was brought up with the old-fashioned view that a woman's place was in the home. My own mother struggled with her worth as a wife and mother and had to fight to be allowed to get a job. As my husband and I began to have issues about our importance in our relationship, I once again delved into the self-help books and found a way to increase my image of myself both to him and to me. But it wasn't just us that I felt a need to prove myself to, it was also anyone who asked me what it was I did all day since I didn't work. I was actually asked this question by a bank teller once who had become a career woman after a divorce. The question shocked me because no one had ever asked me. I had never really thought much about what I did all day because I had a young child and kept busy. That sparked the conversation between my husband and me about my worth. I always felt like he needed a better image of what I was in our marriage. He seemed to like the role of sole provider a little too much for my taste. I suppose it began to hurt my pride. So, I made a list. My list consisted of all the different roles I played from sun-up to sun-down. There were things on my list such as Nurse, cabbie, accountant, counselor, teacher, cook, and so forth. When I was done with my list, it filled up an entire 8 and 1/2 by 11 inch sheet of paper. I was surprised to see the creativity come alive. But it wasn't just a simple project, it was a lifetime of achievement rolled up into one piece of paper. I had developed into much more than I had ever dreamed I could become. I proved something to myself that day that was totally unexpected. I truly was more than 'just a mom'. Click here to read or post comments.
|
