ValueSpeak
A Weekly Column
By
They came to the table from all parts of the state
– men and women, young and old, disparate by design. The intent was to solicit information from a broad
spectrum of contemporary human experiences.
And believe me, this
group’s spectrum was broad.
“I’m a high school science teacher,” said the
first member of the group when he was asked to introduce himself.
“I sell cars,” said the next.
“I have my own scrap booking business,” said the
third.
“I’m a CPA” . . . and so forth around the table
until it was the turn of the final member of the group to identify
herself. Quietly, almost apologetically,
she told the others her name. She
hesitated a moment and looked down at the pad of paper in front of her. Then she added: “I don’t know why I was
invited to do this. I’m . . . just a
mother.”
There were smiles and soft chuckles all around the
table as the other men and women acknowledged the mother’s discomfort. No one belittled her or her comment, but no
one challenged it, either. Instead, all
eyes turned to the discussion moderator, who was looking at the mother
thoughtfully.
It should be noted that the moderator is widely
known and respected in her community as a woman of significant
accomplishment. She is pre-eminent in
her profession, acclaimed for her civic leadership and well-known for her
benevolent involvement in a wide assortment of worthy causes. If anyone had a right to be amused by the
mother’s self-deprecation, it was her.
But there was no amusement in the moderator’s eyes
as she paused to consider the mother’s comment.
Instead she looked concerned, and a little troubled.
“I’m sorry,” she said at last. “I generally won’t comment on anything you
have to say around this table. I am here
to listen to you, and not offer my own opinions. But I can’t let that pass without telling you
that I don’t believe there is any such thing as ‘just a mother.’”
A hush fell over the room, and the young mother squirmed
uncomfortably.
“I’ve known people who were ‘just politicians,’”
the moderator continued, carefully choosing her words. “I’ve known people who were ‘just business
owners,’ or ‘just doctors’ or ‘just lawyers’ or ‘just real estate salespeople.’ But I’ve never known anyone who was ‘just a
mother,’ because I honestly don’t believe there is anything greater than being
a mother.
“Creating a child inside your own body is the
ultimate science experiment. Teaching a
child the things they need to know in order to survive in a sometimes
frightening world is the ultimate opportunity to educate. Feeding a child, from birth to adulthood, is
the ultimate culinary challenge.
Clothing a child through the various phases of life is the ultimate test
of fashion sense and design. Deciding
how to appropriately allocate personal and family resources in the training and
development of a child is the ultimate test of financial planning and
investment brokering. Maintaining
effective relationships with a child through infancy, childhood, adolescence,
the teen years and into the adult years is the ultimate test of flexibility,
diplomacy and public relations.
“‘Just a mother’?” the moderator concluded,
sharing a knowing look with the mother seated next to her. “I don’t think so.”
She paused, gathered some papers and looked around
the group.
“OK,” she said.
“Shall we begin?”
A gentleman on the other side of the table raised
his hand to interrupt.
“Just a second,” he said to the moderator. “It’s your turn to introduce yourself.”
“My name is
— © Joseph Walker
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