The Eternal Nature of the Family

I am a frequenter of Yahoo's Shine, a page compiled with random blog posts in all sorts of topics. Generally, for no reason I can explain, I stick to the parenting section and read all the blogs of mothers and their various experiences or complaints. Apparently I think of myself as a mother without kids.

However, today I wandered upon a blog post written by a woman named Abby, a sex-writer and nude model (not the type of post I would generally read). She explained that she is a feminist who was raised in an unconventional home where her dad stayed home and her mother worked. She is working on a degree in Feminist, Gender, Sexuality Studies but has a secret (or not so secret anymore) desire to be a stay-at-home mother with at least 3 kids. She says, "I just want to fall in love with someone for the rest of my life, have kids with him, and watch those kids grow up".

Reading her post struck such a chord with me. The past two weeks I have been teaching my YW Beehives about the eternal nature of the family: how before this life we were a family unit and that pattern continues in this life and if we are worthy, will continue in the life to come. Admittedly, Abby is anything but traditional and her ideas are considerably liberal, however, even she recognizes the unconscious pull toward a family that has all the potential to be eternal.

I loved this statement that she makes: "I know that marriage and the nuclear family is a screwed-up social construction. I’ve even written papers on the topic. But this argument is based on logic (and a desire to get an A). My happiness is not logical. My choices are not logical." I felt that this is a witness toward the sanctity of marriage and of raising children. She may not realize it and her mind can't make sense of it, but her spirit does.

Along those lines, isn't it amazing that with all the wickedness that this world has experienced, that the traditional ideas of marriage and the nuclear family are still the mainstream? I find this to be a testament of the eternal nature of families.

Additionally, I absolutely loved this statement that Abby used to conclude her post, "Being a feminist is about having the right to choose what you do with your life. My choice (as of today) is to be a stay-at-home mom. Therefore, I am a feminist". With all the negative pressure against women who decide to stay home with their kids, I love this affirmation. Women who choose to stay home aren't giving up their right to be independent free-thinkers, they are actually asserting those rights. (FYI, I'm not saying that there is anything wrong with women who choose or who are unable to stay home, just appreciating a feminist woman who is not bashing on stay-at-home mom's.)

So bravo to all the women (not just conservative, traditional types) who, in their search for happiness, acknowledge their desires for a nuclear family life that may not always be the popular choice.

*If interested, you can read Abby's post here: "I'm a White-Picket-Fence Feminist"