Mary
Legacy Name: Mary

Motherhood

Ever since I was a little girl, I dreamed of being a mother. I was always fussing over my dolls or any babies of friends. When I was 6 my mother had her second child, and I looked after him as much as I could, earning me the nickname of "Mary the Little Mother".

Then only a year later, the twins arrived! Poor Mum was overloaded so my help was even more needed. Thankfully I had a good Mum who knew I needed time to be a child as well, and would send me to friends places for weekends so I could relax. She let me know that my siblings were her and Dad's responsibility, not mine. But she did say that my help was very much appreciated! I think that helped me to never resent my siblings or dim my passion to me a mother myself one day. I felt so good giving help and love.

I never had much incentive for a career. I did pretty badly in school, and I was always daydreaming. "You'll never amount to anything if you don't apply yourself", I was told more than once. But I had no interest in learning from books when the whole wide world was out there! People to love and learn from and experience.

I had a boyfriend, Peter, whose parents were retired hippies. At least that's how they described themselves. He was an only child, and loved how busy our home was. Peter and I had practically grown up together but we always had such a strong connection. It was so natural to be with him in high school.

Despite being careful, I fell pregnant with our first at age 17, finding out only a few weeks before I finished high school. In hindsight it was great timing! So I completed high school, got my diploma, but found I was only interested in the new life beginning within me. Peter was thrilled, and we planned on getting married. My parents were a bit surprised, but supportive. I was so very lucky.

Pregnancy changed my body so much! You don't realise it will. You have cravings for different foods. Sometimes they make sense, like chocolate milk or ice cream for calcium, fish for iodine, maybe spicy, or salty, or comfort foods. I'm glad I never got Pica which is a craving for items that are not actually food, like dirt, paint chips, or paper! My biggest craving when pregnant with my first was roast chicken skin. Not the chicken. Just the skin! Luckily Peter loves chicken so happily helped me with my craving.

When little Esther arrived, life was very hard. While I was still living with mum and dad, they insisted they were grandparents, not parents. They helped, but they made me and Peter be in charge. In hindsight, it was the smartest thing to do. This was my life now, and while I did have a cry sometimes as me friends went out to parties but I was home with a new baby, it also led to me bonding well with her. It wasn't her fault she was born. Her whole life depended on me, and while that was a huge responsibility, there was something beautiful about it too.

Peter was there every day and slept over some nights to give me a rest. He absolutely doted on Esther. She became the light of his life. That actually hasn't changed much over the years. We've had other children, but the bond between them has always been special.

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Credits

Credits: Profile and Code by: Ringo

Story, Header, Code/Graphics Edits, Word Art by: Dracona

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