Read Alanis’ recent article on Motherhood written for iVillage.com
Go here:
http://www.ivillage.com/alanis-morissette-being-mom/1-a-399407
Tags: iVillage, mind, motherhood
Alanis Writes for iVillage.com on Motherhood
November 8th, 2011 3:45 pm
18 Responses
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Hi Alanis-
Beautifully written…
Enjoyed your thoughts on the growing up, on wanting someone to step in, pat our heads, etc.
My daughter is now 12.5 mos and I have days where I wish someone would step in and care for ME!
But me, accountable matriarch (as you poignantly put it), steps up to the plate out of duty and a love I don’t even know what to make of and despite my own kicking/screaming/fighting internally at moments, I surrender–and it’s so sweet in the end:)
Sending east coast love your way to you and your family-
Marybeth
Boston, MA
Being a mom too, I really loved the article.
I actually didn’t get prepared to the post-partum era. I wasn’t prepared and I really didn’t want to get prepared, not because I didn’t care, on the contrary I really cared of and I wanted to learn at the moment, day by day, together with her. I just left the things happen, because what I really knew and was conscious of was that every birth, every child, every post-partum era is different from the other. And it depends on who you are, how you normally react to stress (considering hormones too), how your baby is (healthy or not). And even if you find yourself in the same exact situation of someone other, there are a number of variables tied to the problem, that request you to find a different solution. Maybe the difference is minimal, but the fact is that is different.
So I didn’t pay too much attention to what other moms told me about their experience: I listened to them, put the story in a pot and kept them as a possible answer to one of my future questions. The only thing I needed to learn was to be more patient, to breathe a little bit longer before a reaction, because the baby in my arms requested me to. I never under-considered my baby just because she couldn’t express as I do: no talk, no words, no clear movement of hands to indicate a stomach-ache for example. They, the babys, have a basic language to communicate through and I had to learn it.
When you write “I will never be so blithe and casual around the topic of motherhood again! (So sorry, Mom.)”.
I think that it’s the same first thought that flashed in my head when my firstborn arrived.
Starting from the fact that I love my mom, during my growth I’ve been often in fight with her and I think I overtold the sentence “You can’t understand me”, tipically a teenage status. Now I know that, indeed, I didn’t understand her. As my daughters won’t understand me.
It’s amazing to read again from you. I was really curious to know how it went, as I would normally be curious for a friend. Remember to breathe, keep calm because your story is still unwritten. Hugs!
Yo. Kind of figured you were prone to the poetic implications of all of life’s journeys, be they solidly grounded or cosmically mandated. That is consistenly how your individual beauty manifests. Didn’t quite realize the full extent of your psychosis, tho’. Pleasantly surprised (so… You carry a thesaurus where-Ever you go?
Of course, this wouldn’t be the first XY borne of your labour’s, now, would it? Certainly, the most evident, but not the first.
Be cool, young mother… You oughta know dat you pretty…
LOved the way this article is written….very funny, humbling and heartwarming
Such beautiful honesty, as usual.
Everything Alanis says just fascinates me. Great read.
I have been a huge fan & loved you since I was a little girl and you were still’Alanis’, lol – early on in your career. I met you waaaay back in 90′s, at Music World. I had just got a japanese fighting fish and I told you I had named it after you, lol. We were snapped by a photographer for my local newspaper (I live in Toronto) and I still have the article in my memory box. I am now 30yrs old and I have 2 kids of my own ….. I read and LOVE absolutely everything you just wrote in that article for iVillage. You have always been my Hero, Lady…..ROCK ON MAMA — THANK YOU xxoo
this is a beautiful article Alanis! What a growth opportunity it is to be a mom! I can’t wait to embark on that journey one day
beautifully written…I look forward to my own similar time! I envision the scary roller coaster of it all to be beautiful, even when it’s mind blowing and exhausting. Can’t wait…thanks for your insight.
“I’ll-rise-to-that-occasion-when-I-get-there”. My mother and I had some great laughs reading and discussing this = )
“I had no idea the person I’d always dreamed of becoming was being born at the exact same time.”
Pretty amazing! Brought tears to my eyes.
The “disney-fication” of all things childbirth does a huge disservice to the individuals that come sweating, crying and laughing hysterically through such a transformative experience. Many kudos for your attempt to shine some much-needed light on the beautiful realities of this metamorphosis.
Great article! Being a mom of a 19-month-old little boy, I can definitely relate. It’s nice to hear you are dealing with the same things.
Beautiful picture of you and your son.
Such magical vision about birth. It´s amazing how we, women, are able and strong to give birth to another life. So amazing the way you wrote about hormones and happinness. Something that nobody told you, is that you have 9 months during pregnancy to download Nature´s instruction to take care of the baby. It´s 100% instinct. The most beautifull.
thanks for sharing and this great insight. looking forward to the new record.
Love it! I often say that my daughter gave birth to me. It is so true that when these precious spirits arrive in our lives they create entirely new beings out of us. : )
great story and love the rush of fears and happiness and overwhelming realism that was felt. i really like the ending quote, nice!
thanks for sharing your thoughts in such a beautiful way. as a mother of a 1,5-year-old child i also thought i was the one who gave birth to someone and something beautiful but at the same time, as you said it, she gave birth to me. a perfect chance to grow up. a perfect chance to go through emotions we could never imagine going through.