Mothering in Decades Past

Have you ever wondered how mothers did it all 50, 100, 200 plus years ago? I do–all the time. I think about how stressed, overworked and struggling to juggle so many different responsibilities the mothers of today often are. I wonder if the mothers of yesteryear felt the same way–not to say mothers back then were not stressed out too–I’m sure they were. But it just seems like they had a better handle on things.

I struggle to get through a day without yelling at my girls, I let them watch too much TV, and I let them eat far too  much processed junk than they should be. I often feel frazzled when I’m home with them all day and it makes me want to scream when I get a fun project set up for them (that they requested) and then they don’t even want to do it for 5 minutes. I need grace and forgiveness in this area–parenting is. so. hard.

My priorities are often pulled in so many directions–even at home. I work part-time (partly from home), so work duties are constantly calling me. Then there’s the homemaking chores and the homesteading and the gardening that all take time. I feel guilty enough not spending much time really “playing” with my girls but I just don’t have that luxury a lot of times.

For one, I think because a majority of women in decades past did not work outside the home (or perhaps they worked on the farm), work-life balance was not as much of an issue and the childcare situation–at least financially–was taken care of somewhat. Two, those that did engage in pursuits outside of home life were privileged to have help in the form of nurses, nannies, or relatives that served as caregivers for young children. It seems that in order for one class of mothers to have the necessary help needed to care for their children, another class of mothers–namely servants–would have sacrificed their family life.

Oh how I would love to ask the advice of those mothers long ago who were able to juggle the responsibilities of home and farm and raise up multiple children without the help of modern conveniences. Because this mama needs a lot of help most days. To do everything that society expects of a mother in today’s world as well as a professional in the workplace requires us to be “supermoms”–is that really sustainable and healthy?

So what is the solution? Is it impossible for moms these days to both work and raise a family and do a fine job at both? Would love to hear your thoughts.