On the Art of Motherhood

   John Senior is perhaps the best source to explain my ideals of motherhood, since he combines the best of Waldorf emphasis on imagination with a more Montessori-ish emphasis on intellect, combined with traditional Catholic culture. Beginning more or less at the beginning:

              Culture, as in "agriculture," is the cultivation of the soil from which men grow. To determine proper methods, we must have a clear idea of the crop. "What is man?" the Penny Catechism asks, and answers: "A creature made in the image and likeness of God, to know, love and serve Him." Culture, therefore, clearly has this simple end, no matter how complex or difficult the means. Our happiness consists in a perfection that is no mere  endless hedonistic whoosh through space and time . . . All the paraphernalia of our lives, intellectual, moral, psychological, and physical, has this end: Christian culture is the cultivation of saints.

   In the myriad ways that this could apply to mothering, the basic premise that I draw from this is that mothering means not just occupying my children's time so I can get things done and then throwing some Theology and the requisite Sacraments in the mix, but in developing my children, body, mind, and imagination, to fulfill the Christian ideals.
   I have been so disturbed lately by images and stories of mothers who heavily depend on some form of screen or gadget to entertain their children. Not every child needs to be, or obviously has the ability to be, Michelangelo--but every child has the innate ability to explore the world in order to discover truth, goodness, and beauty. Limiting exposure to this world, whether from fear, laziness, or ignorance, will limit the development and understanding of our children. How can a child who watches television appreciate the beauty of the Sistine Chapel: a static collection of images that requires contemplation and imagination? How can such a child even understand the rich symbolism, metaphor, and supernatural realities contained in the Mass? If we rely on technologically "interactive" toys, how will our children learn the beauty of silence, the richness of imagination, and the serenity of contemplation?
   As a mother, then, I must give of my own time, inclinations, and past times. I must sacrifice every aspect of myself to develop the latent potentialities of my baby. Only thus will he be able to find God, to be the man that God intended him to be, and to fulfill the purpose for which he was created.
God help me!