I had to share this with y'all......

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 l 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 and 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
he r to drop a soufflé 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 s 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 herself 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, and 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 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 th at tears
have formed in my eyes. "You'll never regret it," I finally
say. 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.

Please share this with a Mom that you know or all of your
girlfriends who may someday be Moms.

May you always have in your arms the one who is in your
heart.......