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Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Mothering Anatomically

Written by Deb

Dare I suggest that all of us mommy bloggers have it wrong? It's not good vs. bad, silly, it's pancreas vs. gallbladder! I guess you'd like me to explain. Picture your child as one of those creepy laminated poster bodies that hang in the pediatrician's office, organs exposed for all to see. Got it? Now here we go...

As a mom, are you the brain? Do you make all the decisions for your kids? Are you constantly receiving stimuli and reacting instantaneously, synapses firing at lightning speed, before your kids even have a chance to think things through and react on their own?

Or are you the heart? That sounds nice, doesn't it? Well, let's think about it... Are you the lifeline of your kids, pumping 24/7, prominently carrying them along in life? If you stopped working furiously, would your children drop dead?

I think I want to be the kidney. Not much fanfare, I realize, but an important part of my kids' lives. I could even be slightly damaged, but my kids would be okay. In fact, I could be completely removed and they could still live happy, productive, healthy lives. My main role? I am there, quietly in the background, receiving everything my children ingest. I filter it, helping to eliminate the bad forever, and allowing them absorb the nutrients from the good. They thrive. They grow, not even realizing I am there sometimes. Although I get taken for granted at times, I remind myself that it is not about me. I am only one part of a glorious, self-sufficient, independent whole.

19 comments:

  1. OK Deb, do you think you could move to CA and raise my children for me?????

    I absolutely LOVE your analogy. It's perfect and it's what I strive for.

    I so so so want to be the kidney!

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  2. Great analogy! I am the kidney and sometimes I need to be the lung...remembering to breathe...easy there girl!

    Very good post.

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  3. Oh my god, I love you, woman.

    I think I want to be the skin. I want to wrap them up when they're new, keep them protected and safe, and then be shed and replaced with something new when it's time. If I can' tbe the kidney, because you called it. Brilliant woman. :)

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  4. Perfect!! I think a Spleen and a gall bladder would work as well ;)

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  5. Wow - seriously - you need to submit this to every parent magazine out there. So excellent.

    I'm afraid I align more with the heart, but I'm working on that kidney thing, I swear. Can't I just be Youngest's liver? THAT would be great.

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  6. As the parent of a kid with type 1 diabetes, I sort of am the pancreas, even though I don't want to have to be one.

    Such a great analogy. And yeah, this should definitely be submitted to all the parenting magazines. This is fantastic.

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  7. Deb, yes, you blow me away with this one. This analogy is pure creativity and brilliance. I love it.

    And wow you know A LOT more about the anatomy than I do. I could never have described a kidney as brilliantly as you did. That is incredible. I've never loved my kidney as much as I do now. :-)

    So what body part am I? As a mother?
    The muscle tissue? Sitting within my kids' bodies providing them with strength and helping them to run fast, jump high and lift the heavy life will through at them?
    The backbone providing them with a solid foundation on which to walk through life?
    I may have to think on this a while...

    :-)

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  8. Deb, love the analogy or should I say anatomy..lol
    I would have to agree with you and say I am a kidney as well.
    NLSM

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  9. That's a good one. What shall I be? Maybe white blood cells - fierce and tenacious, ever alert to potential danger and ready to fight for health and wellbeing. They can't live without me, though. I think you're right about the kidney. Hey, how about the liver? They could lost a part of me and carry on, but they'd rather have all of me.

    Thanks for the lovely post

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  10. It won't be a surprise, but I'm going to be the diaphragm. My 3-year-old was born without one and should have died, but she's still here. Her surgically created diaphragm separates her abdominal organs from her heart and lungs like a normal diaphragm does. The surgically created diaphragm doesn't move up and down and perfectly assist the heart and lungs - so her lungs do a little more work than a normal set of lungs has to. But they don't seem to mind, they don't strain, they are just grateful for the supportive diaphragm - even if a surgeon was needed to place it.

    If my kids didn't have their diaphragm they could still live (with a little extra intervention and support), not in the way they were intended to, but they can still thrive eventually. My 3 yr old has proved that!

    Thanks for the post, Deb - great job. You're kids can't fail with you as the kidney!

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  11. beautiful - can I use this for scrapbooking??

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  12. what a great way to look at things. I love it.

    And I must say, I have really been enjoying this series this week. I might even do my own post with my take on the idea. Thanks for the inspiration.

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  13. What a great post, Deb! I absolutely LOVE your kidney analogy--so visual for me.

    Truth by told, I tend to be the brain. My need to organize and control takes over and I'm not proud of the results sometimes. What a wake up call this is! It's so important to let our kids make their own decisions whenever possible.

    I'm gonna print out a picture of a kidney and hang it up at work. It will be a great reminder (and a pretty good conversation starter as well!!)

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  14. Absolutely brilliant post Deb!! Love the kidney analogy

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  15. Beautifully said. Some days I feel like I'm a little of each, but like you, I would ultimately prefer to be a kidney.

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  16. What is it about becoming a mom that sharpens our awareness of organs? For some odd reason, now that I'm a mom I think about organs all the time and what they mean for me and my children (literally and metaphorically). I really like the analogy you've made here in this post.

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  17. I cannot believe it took me this long to read this. Life is hectic...but I'm so glad I read it at a time when I could sit and just...take it all in.

    What a great post.

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