THE ROLE OF WOMEN
IN LEADING A FAMILY:
DIFFICULTIES FACED
BY A MATRIARCH IN LEADING A FAMILY.
Since
the challenges and blessings in leading a family are as varied as women
themselves, I will explore the topic by sharing my own experiences. I married
very young, 17 to be exact, running from a strict family and into the arms of a
young man who needed a mother more than a wife.
At
21, I had my daughter and continued to mother both my child and my husband, but
I grew weary of parenting a spouse. I realized how I was letting myself down
and decided to parent myself better. I enrolled in college classes and began
the process in which I earned my Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees. I lost the
husband.
Then,
my roles became single mother and college student. Many dinners were 99 cent
take-out bean burritos and water at home, but my daughter and I had each other.
We had time to spend together as I tootled us around in my Honda hatchback
while listening to Back Street boys and car-seat dancing with my mini-me.
At
28, I met my second husband. I was still a single mother as I claimed I would
be both mother and father to my daughter before I allowed a man to step into
our relationship and tell me how to raise my child. This second husband respected
that and supported me to parent my daughter as I saw fit. We had a second
daughter together and this fragmented family became a cohesive unit. I was now
finally mother and wife, not mother-wife, and I made room for a true father for
my girls.
There
is something freeing about true partnership. I will always be the mother and
for me that means I am the spiritual, heart-force of my family. It is not about
authority or power as much as it is about working together for the common good
of each member of my family. I chose to take on my role as a carver of a
sanctuary in a world that is tumultuous and rash.
I
am a matriarch. I am a loving, living, flawed, divine manifestation of female
love that strives to bring soul-power and compassion to my family and to the
world. From the outside, do people see me as powerful? As a life-force of
matriarchal strength? I don’t know. Perhaps not. I do live what looks like a
traditional lifestyle. What I do know is that being a mother is my highest
calling and is the source of my authentic power.
My
role in leading my family is not the same role every woman takes, nor is it the
“correct” one. For me though, it works. I am now moving into the phase where I
am having to learn the art of letting go. My daughter is 19 and in college. My
role as her mother is ever more evolving. As a matriarch, I hope I can model
for her the courage to blaze her own path, the tools to navigate the good and
the bad that will challenge her, and the grace to know when to hold on for dear
life and when to let go. For mothering is not just about the birthing and
raising of babies that come from my body. Mothering is the art of loving and
manifesting that love so that it sends love-waves far from the hearth and into
the world.
A
LITTLE ABOUT STACY OVERMAN MORRISON:
Stacy Overman Morrison was born and
raised in Texas. She earned her Bachelor’s and Master’s of Arts degrees in
English from the University of Texas of the Permian Basin. Upon completion of
her Master’s, she taught secondary English and adjuncted at the University. She
took time off from her teaching career after the birth of her second daughter
and has pursued her writing since. She continues to live in Texas with her
husband, two daughters, two dogs, and two horses. This is her first novel and
she is hard at work listening to the voices of her characters in her second.
Thanks again for taking part in the tour and hosting Stacy!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Dhivya. I've enjoyed making your acquaintance on twitter!
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