This article is a review of the book “The Pride to be a Mother” (original title: “Orgullo de ser madre”) by María Calvo. The review is based on an article by José Miguel Ponce published in “Woman Essentia”.

Motherhood is not an easy path

Being a mother has never been easy. Children are almost always inconvenient and come to disrupt our planned personal and professional lives; turning them upside down and, of course, throwing years of diets and exercise overboard. Living with an extremely dependent creature who needs us so much is not easy, no matter how much love you put into it. But for women with economic difficulties, motherhood no longer becomes a question of priorities, but an absolute heroic act.

To all the difficulties and sacrifices mentioned above that motherhood entails, we must add today the absolute social disdain for motherhood and the lack of reasonable measures to allow the reconciliation of family and work.

Motherhood and Society

María Calvo invites us to reflect on motherhood in the current context, in which motherhood is a challenge that goes beyond parenthood and becomes an act of social transformation. She reminds me of the words of John Paul II that women make society more humane.

“Nothing prepares you for motherhood, but being a mother prepares you for everything.”

Even though – as mentioned above – being a mother is accompanied by many adversities, many women still choose to have a pregnancy, especially in cases where the pregnancy is unwanted. It can cause trauma and bring with it absolute loneliness. And yet, love for the child triumphs over fear and uncertainty. And what’s more, neither society nor the authorities understand this courageous decision for life.

But motherhood is also, according to María Calvo, the most exciting and rewarding experience for a woman. This is repeated throughout the book with different approaches.

Motherhood means developing skills

I particularly liked the sentence: “Nothing prepares you for motherhood, but being a mother prepares you for everything.” Therefore, society should value the virtues and skills that a woman develops through motherhood. These skills are very useful and beneficial for the world of work, in the profession and in society (see article by Joachim Lask, link below).

I like to say that being a mother should be a plus point on a woman’s resume, even though companies usually do not value it. Being a mother promotes flexibility, creativity, intuition, teamwork, emotional expressiveness, empathy, patience, affectivity, willingness to compromise, pragmatism, ability to improvise, contextual vision and time management. In addition, there are women’s innate social skills that are accentuated or strengthened by motherhood. All of these virtues and skills are experiencing a growing demand in today’s economy. “A son is a gift to his mother. But a mother is a gift to society as a whole.

Necessary measures in society

We need a society that is proud of its mothers and takes smart measures to ensure that mothers can remain integrated into the world of work and employment. Only this will enable mothers to work so that they do not become chronically exhausted. A society should value their generosity, commitment and willingness to make sacrifices.

Another idea that runs throughout the book is the idea that society gives a great space to motherhood. From this comes an enormous healing energy, immense beauty and power, capable of humanizing the world, and restoring the dignity of the mysterious, the beautiful, the sublime.

The family has an essential role in this task. Even if the family is rarely perfect, it allows adversity to be endured, to give direction and support.

In short, the book analyzes motherhood not only as a personal experience, but as a fundamental pillar of society. It emphasizes that it is about transforming the “guilt” of motherhood into “pride” and making women love themselves and life.

“The Pride of Being a Mother” is a hymn to life and femininity, a work that empowers women in their most natural and transcendental role. María Calvo sends us a message of hope and strength, reminding us that motherhood is a vocation that enriches not only the family but the entire society, in which the figure of the mother is essential to transmit solid values ​​and principles to new generations.

Link to the Book of Maria Calvo: https://www.amazon.com/-/es/Orgullo-madre-Mar%C3%ADa-Calvo-Charro/dp/8432166456

Link to Joachim Lask: https://familyvalued.org/elterliche-skills-ein-vermogenswert/

Link to the Book Family Valued: https://familyvalued.org/en/renaissance-der-familie-2/  

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