Recently, I finished reading a delightful book by Jane Clayson Johnson, former news reporter and personality, called “I Am a Mother”. I loved it! I thought I’d share some of my favorite quotes from the book, and then my own little insights as well. Her thoughts are especially pertinent to mother’s, but anyone can gain insight from the words she shared. Clayson Johnson was at the top of her career, when she made the decision to stay home with her children and step-children. She emphasizes how important the work mothers do is, and related her frustrations with people who think, “Oh, you’re just a mother” or “I’m just a mother.” JUST!?! I share her sentiments and am grateful I’m able to say I AM a mother!
“Any woman who has devoted herself to raising children has experienced the hollow praise that only thinly conceals smug dismissal. In a culture that measures worth and achievement almost solely in terms of money, the intensive work of rearing responsible adults counts for little. One of the most intriguing questions in economic history is how this came to be; how mothers came to be excluded from the ranks of productive citizens. How did the demanding job of rearing a modern child come to be trivialized as baby-sitting? When did caring for children become a ‘labor of love’, smothered under a blanket of sentimentality that hides its economic importance?” - Ann Crittenden
“More than sixty years ago, the First Presidency said it all when they called motherhood ‘the highest, holiest service…assumed by mankind’. Simply stated, everything I have experienced and everything I have observed tells me this doctrine, the doctrine of motherhood, is true. Have you ever wondered why prophets have taught this doctrine again and again and again? I have. I’ve thought long and hard about the work of women of God. And I’ve wrestled with what the doctrine of motherhood means for all of us. This issue has driven me to my knees, to the scriptures, and to the temple! In each of those places I have found reinforcement of this ennobling doctrine. It is a doctrine each of us must understand if we hope to be steadfast and immovable in the face of the complex and confusing issues that swirl around our gender. For Satan has declared war on motherhood. He knows that those who rock the cradle have the power to rock his earthly empire. And he knows that without righteous mothers loving and leading the next generation, the kingdom of God will fail.” -Sheri Dew
“Let France have good mothers, and she will have good sons.” -Napoleon Bonaparte
“Our mother provides us with our first experience of nurturing. She is our first and most powerful female role model. It is from her that we learn what it is to be a woman. Our cells divided and grew to the beat of her heart. Our skin, hair, heart, lungs, and bones were nourished by her blood, blood that awash with the neurochemicals formed in response to her thoughts, beliefs, and emotions. If she was fearful or anxious…, our bodies knew it. If she felt safe, happy, and fulfilled, we felt that too.” -Christiane Northrup, M.D.
“Every daughter contains her mother and all the women who came before her. The unrealized dreams of our maternal ancestors are part of our heritage.” -Christiane Northrup, M.D.
“A mother’s heart is a child’s schoolroom. The instructions received a the mother’s knee…are never effaced entirely from the soul…Family life is God’s own method of training the young, and homes are largely what mothers make them.” -Harold B. Lee
“No greater recognition can come to you in this world than to be known as a woman of God. No greater status can be conferred upon you than being a daughter of God who experiences true sisterhood, wifehood, and motherhood, or other tasks that influence lives for good.” - Spencer W. Kimball
Don’t Quit
“When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the roads you’re trudging seems all up hill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest if you must, but don’t you quit…
Success is failure turned inside out.
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far,
So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit.
It’s when things seem worst that you must not quit."
-Author Unknown
“The hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the world.” -William Ross Wallace
“Cleaning and scrubbing can wait for tomorrow,
For babies grow up, I’ve learned, to my sorrow.
So quiet down, cobwebs. Dust, go to sleep.
I’m rocking my baby, and babies don’t keep.”
-Unknown
“Rather than trying to be Supermom try being simply Mom – and let the wonder in your child’s eyes give you the strength to keep on going.” -Jane Clayson Johnson
“You do not lose your identity when you become am other; you have the opportunity to more closely identify with God, to become more like Him and to enrich the lives of all who come after you.” -Jane Clayson Johnson
“Certainly, motherhood involves some sacrifices. Every worthwhile venture does. You will certainly lose some sleep over the years, and every now and then, you might temporarily lose your sanity. But you will also learn- about yourself, about the world, about the Spirit. The woman you c an become as you nurture your children is a woman of faith, a woman who trusts in the Lord and knows he has a plan for her, a woman who has developed patience and empathy and knows how to listen, a woman of courage.” -Jane Clayson Johnson
“It is not only in her calling as a Young Women president, or a Primary teacher, or a visiting teacher, that a woman can be magnified. You can be magnified in your calling as a mother. You must simply ask for the Spirit to guide you. Women who pray in faith to receive revelation, particularly as it relates to the nurture and rearing of children. And the more we act on revelation, the more we are able to receive.” -Jane Clayson Johnson
“If LDS women criticize each other rather than connect with and support each other, the adversary wins the day by driving wedges into natural, womanly relationships of strength. Because women can give so much never-failing charity to each other in relationships, one curse of the modern world has been to isolate and alienate women – including LDS women – from one another by making them more competitive.” -Elder Bruce C. Hafen
“Mothers go longer on less sleep and give more than any other group I know at any other time in life. It is not surprising when the shadows under their eyes sometimes vaguely resemble the state of Rhode Island.” - Jeffrey R. Holland
“In every woman’s story there are unknowns – struggles only she knows about, fears she’s tried to overcome but still harbors, disappointments and sorrows she bears. The last thing any of us wants – or needs – is to be judged by others who don’t know our stories, in part or at all.” – Jane Clayson Johnson
“What a difference a small act of charity can make in another woman’s life! Charity has the power to pull us together, to make the labels we place on ourselves-and that other stick there for us – obsolete. And without the labels, we are known only as daughters of God, sisters in his great work.” -Jane Clayson Johnson
“I’d rather be a mother than anyone on earth/Bringing up a child or two of unpretentious birth…I’d rather tuck a little child all safe and sound in bed/Than twine a chain of diamonds about my [carefree] head. I’d rather wash a smudgy face with round, bright, baby eyes/Than paint the pageantry of fame or walk among the wise.” -Meredith Gray
“We can all rejoice in the sacred calling of motherhood. To give birth is only one part of this sacred mission…Bug to help another gain eternal life is a privilege that is neither denied to nor delayed for any worthy woman...The world is filled with people to be loved, guided, taught, lifted, and inspired.” Every woman can find happiness and fulfillment in mothering. “You need not possess children to love them. Loving is not synonymous with possessing, and possessing is not necessarily loving The world is filled with people to be loved, guided, taught, lifted, and inspired.” - Sister Ardeth Kapp
“Much of the major growth that is coming to the Church in the last days…will happen to the degree that the women of the Church reflect righteousness and articulateness in their lives and to the degree that they are seen as distinct and different – in happy ways – from the women of the world.” -Spencer W. Kimball
“Sisters, we are all mothers! There are no justs involved. And as mothers, as women of God, we each have a story to tell, to share with our children and their children and all the children whose lives we touch.” -Jane Clayson Johnson
My life has been impacted by so many incredible mothers! I am grateful for my Mom, and the powerful example she's been to me! She has taught me so much. My heart is full of love for her, and to her I owe so much! I'm also grateful to all of the mothers who came before her, as I have pieces of all of them inside of me. I'm grateful to my mother-in-law, Sue. She is so good and kind, I love her! My Grammie has taught me so much, she has so much knowledge and wisdom that I draw from each time i'm with her. All of my aunts are great, they have helped in mothering me. My great Aunt Lois is more like a Grandma than an Aunt to me, she is such a neat lady. My dad's sister, Christie is always so much fun. She loves to talk and is fun to talk to. And Aunt Suzanne, or Suz is awesome! And my Aunt Jo is a great mother with great kids! Then my mom's sister Debbie, and her sister-in-laws, the Shuana's and Cheryl; each has made an impression on me in some way. My sister, Amy, though she has no children of her own yet, is a fabulous mother. She is so great with my kids, and any young person she comes in contact with. She will be such an amazing mom some day! My sister-in-laws are all so great! Meghan is the cutest Mommy. She's the mom everyone wants to be. Julie, again, has no children of her own, but she is such a nurturer. The kids all love her so much, and she, too, will be such an awesome mommy when the time comes! Stacy is so good with her kids. She had Tayla five and a half years ago, about 8 months before Emma came along, and we've been in this mothering thing together ever since. She's such a support! Shirley is so great with her own children and grandchildren, and as an aunt. It's fun visiting with her! Then all of my friends, they have been there to help me raise my kids, and to compare notes with. Calena, Hlee, Ashley, Katie, Jasmine, Katrina, Nanette, Kasey, Lorie, and all of my other friends -I love you all! My ward members of my youth who were neighbors, leaders, and friends; as well as my ward members now, there are so many to look up to and emulate. I can't thank all of you enough. It's true that it takes a whole village to raise a child, and I'm so happy that you have helped to raise me and are helping to raise my children as well. May I be a better mother is my wish. I love my children and hope I can have some kind of impact on them!
Option #2. The Simpsons! This is my favorite choice (and Cal's, too! I guess that means 2 to 1 to 1. We win! JK). I think it would be fun!
Option #2. The Simpsons! This is my favorite choice (and Cal's, too! I guess that means 2 to 1 to 1. We win! JK). I think it would be fun!
