National Mother's View
By Rosalie
Gaziano
On a recent flight from my home in Charleston, West Virginia, to New York, I was seated across the aisle from a very bright and attractive young lady. When she turned her head to nod and smile at me, her eyes were shining with a joy I had not seen in a while and I realized there was an infant snuggled under her chic black coat.
As we
talked, she confided "My whole world has changed, with this
infant. I just want to protect her, but where will it take me?
And what of the opportunities I am leaving? I just left a role
in A Chorus Line."
"It will take you further than you can ever imagine." I answered.
"I think God gave us children to enlarge our lives," I said. "You are now on a journey that will make you a richer, fuller human being, one that demonstrates that the greatest gift one can be given is life. You have been given a new life that will change you and the world."
My children opened the world to me in new and wonderful ways. As I once taught them to pray, to read, and to study, they now share the world of technology, philosophy, and health fitness. Together we live the rhythms and rituals of the year with new excitement and continuity. The children have made me understand and appreciate diversity, both theirs and their friends. They have helped me link the past to the future—my own childhood, the lives and times of their grandparents—now with their children. They give me meaning beyond myself.
As for the sacrifices: for some, the thought of being a parent is both appealing and frightening. Will they miss something either way? For others, the call is ancient and holy. By name I have called you, Isaiah has told us, and the call to parenthood is holy ground.
As for myself, all I could answer was that the fruits of the love of my life—a husband and five sons—have broadened, widened, and kept me in a balance that only family could do. That is not to say there have no sacrifices or struggles. There have been the goals redirected, paths changed or not taken, and books written later than I had hoped, but the directions that we have taken as a team have been amazing.
The family has allowed us life's purpose: to love. The children have introduced me to worlds I would never have known. There has been a Rhodes scholar who took us all to Oxford, two Truman scholars, and a trip to Washington to witness an award by the president of the United States. There is a son who took us to Bavaria to a fairy tale wedding and one who invited us to Chicago where he is creating a fitness video. Among the five sons are four physicians and a nationally known lawyer.
And now the greatest joy they express is that they treasure their family experiences. With their wives, they share new families and they continue the sacrifices and balance that it takes in this generation to live fully. There are now eight grandchildren. The balance is always tough—as it was for me. But balance is what makes life rich, not egocentric or myopic.
Traveling around the United States as the National Mother, I am often asked yet one more question: "Is bringing up children in West Virginia rewarding?"
I can honestly say West Virginia is a caring place to watch children become responsible adults. All five of our sons were nurtured in this environment, and all of them, as well as my husband and I, attended WVU. West Virginia is not only a place that respects family but provides possibilities for learning of the highest sort, as the faculty encouraged Truman and Rhodes scholars, and the professions of medicine and law. There is a saying that "mothers help God bless America," and I would add WVU helps God bless America with spirit!