Badges of Motherhood

Remember in Brownies or Girl Scouts how when you completed a project like camping you got a badge for it? Those badges were simbols of something to be proud of, a way of knowing who in the troup could do what, well I propose that motherhood should adopt some badges, not as a way of braging but as a form of respect. That way the next time a toddler is having a melt down in the resraunt rather than giving her the evil eye we can all look over and see her badges that explain her husband is in Iraq, and maybe we could all cut her some slack.

Women in general are fairly judgmental about each other and I have found that motherhood brings this out even more. Even though Riley is 8 weeks old now I still don't do my hair or make up but once a week, and normally only if I know the camera will be pointed in my direction. I wonder what the other mothers are thinking as they see us take our daily walks me in my workout pants and warm jacket with my hair pulled back, no make up to cover the bags under my eyes.

What if they could see that I was overcoming mastitis? Would they judge me as harshly then?

Would I be as quick to judge a mom with a screaming baby in a restaurant if I knew the baby had reflux? Probably not.

We all have our struggles in motherhood, some of us have children who have colic, or reflux, others are dealing with mastitis or clogged ducts. Some have unsupportive extended families, or family that lives to far away to help, while others might be having marital issues. We all could a little more empathy and a little less judgment when our child is acting out or crying, so why are we so quick to give the evil eye instead of a helping hand.