Motherhood--so true!!

This poem was posted on my friend michelle's website and I wanted to share. These awesome truths make me tear up each time I read:

To be a Mom

We are sitting at lunch one day when my daughter
casually mentions that she and her husband are
thinking of "starting a family."
"We're taking a survey," she says half-joking.
"Do you think I should have a baby?"
"It will change your life," I say, carefully keeping
my tone neutral.
"I know," she says, "no more sleeping in on weekends,
no more spontaneous vacations..."
But that is not what I meant at all. I look at my
daughter, trying to decide what to tell her.
I want her to know what she will never learn in
childbirth classes.
I want to tell her that the physical wounds of child
bearing will heal, but becoming a mother will leave
her with an emotional wound so raw that she will
forever be vulnerable.
I consider warning her that she will never again read
a newspaper without asking, "What if that had been MY
child?" That every plane crash, every house fire will
haunt her. That when she sees pictures of starving
children, she will wonder if anything could be worse
than watching your child die.
I look at her carefully manicured nails and stylish
suit and think that no matter how sophisticated she
is, becoming a mother will reduce her to the
primitive level of a bear protecting her cub. That an
urgent call of "Mom!" will cause her to drop a souffle
or her best crystal without a moment's hesitation.
I feel that I should warn her that no matter how many
years she has invested in her career, she will be
professionally derailed by motherhood.
She might arrange for childcare, but one day she will
be going into an important business meeting and she
will think of her baby's sweet smell.
She will have to use every ounce of discipline to keep
from running home, just to make sure her baby is all
right.
I want my daughter to know that every day decisions
will no longer be routine. That a five year old boy's
desire to go to the men's room rather than the women's
at McDonald's will become a major dilemma. That
right there, in the midst of clattering trays and
screaming children, issues of independence and gender
identity will be weighed against the prospect that a
child molester may be lurking in that restroom.
However decisive she may be at the office, she will
second-guess herself constantly as a mother.
Looking at my attractive daughter, I want to assure
her that eventually she will shed the pounds of
pregnancy, but she will never feel the same about
herself. That her life, now so important, will be of
less value to her once she has a child.
That she would give it up in a moment to save her
offspring, but will also begin to hope for more
years-not to accomplish her own dreams, but to watch
her child accomplish theirs.
I want her to know that a cesarean scar or shiny
stretch marks will become badges of honor. My
daughter's relationship with her husband will change,
but not in the way she thinks. I wish she could
understand how much more you can love a man who is
careful to powder the baby or who never hesitates to
play with his child. I think she should know that
she will fall in love with him again for reasons she
would now find very unromantic.
I wish my daughter could sense the bond she will feel
with women throughout history who have tried to stop
war, prejudice and drunk driving.
I hope she will understand why I can think rationally
about most issues, but become temporarily insane when
I discuss the threat of nuclear war to my children's future.
I want to describe to my daughter the exhilaration of
seeing your child learn to ride a bike. I want to
capture for her the belly laugh of a baby who is
touching the soft fur of a dog or cat for the first
time. I want her to taste the joy that is so real it
actually hurts.
My daughter's quizzical look makes me realize that
tears have formed in my eyes. "You'll never regret it," I finally said.
Then I reached across the table, squeezed my
daughter's hand and offered a silent prayer for her,
and for me, and for all the mere mortal women who
stumble their way into this most wonderful of callings.
This blessed gift...that of being a Mother.