The Truth About Motherhood

Advertisement

Earlier this week, Stefanie Pervos Bregman, the editor of Living Jewishly, wrote about engaging 20- and 30- somethings in the Jewish world and Rabbi Jason Miller wrote about exploring commonalities between religions. Today we hear from Living Jewishly contributor Rivka Nehorai.

No one ever told me


that to get older is to get better
and so much more satisfying
in a “ha-yes?!” type of way

And I thought that I should embrace my youth and hold onto it for dear life
until the wheel passed.

No one ever warned me
that becoming a mom is that much cooler,
in which your level of control and insight, wisdom and laughter
expands beyond yourself and your own dreams
into this greater complex organism.

No one ever whispered
that pregnancy was wild,
squirmy little baby within,
no need for air, thank you very much, just squirming around.

I made that, I laugh smugly to myself. Cool! (With help from the One Above, etc)

And I wonder- Why all the secrets? Why all the hushhush? Why pretend that college life is the best, or young and free is the ideal?
It’s not true, I tell you, it’s a lie, a lie that’s spreading across America.
I can assure you, I am much cooler now than I ever was then. With droplets of time for myself, a whole new mission, and a new direction and explosion in life.

Spread the word.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

Discover More

A Book and Its Translators

It was a freezing afternoon outside Warsaw in March 2012, and I was sitting in a cramped hut listening to ...

Jewish History and Jewish Memory

On the first day of “The History of the Jews in Eastern Europe,” my college professor explained the tension between ...

My Favorite Episodes in Helena Rubinstein’s Biography

It’s difficult to choose only one—she led such an amazing life! The first that springs to mind, though, is the ...

Advertisement