MMO: Get Real by Abby Arnold

Sporting an attitude
Oct 2006. There's something about kid's sports that makes even a non-sports adult like me get judgmental, competitive, and a bit insane.

The Long View
Feb 2005. When I have to choose between the rights of an unborn life and the rights of the woman to determine what becomes of that life’s potential, the matter is clear. The baby may be alive, but the woman is living. And I choose the living.

A Different Vote
Oct 2004. Neither my gender nor my reproductive organs define who I am, what I believe, or how I will vote.

Mother Love
Jul 2004. Why is it a mother’s grief that resonates so deeply? The unspoken assumption here is that a mother’s love is the truest, most powerful force in the world, the highest earthly authority which can be summoned in the fight against great wrong.

All of it
Jun 2004. I’ve been thinking about that stupid phrase so often applied to mothers “you can have it all,” and it’s corollary “you can have it all, just not all at once.”

Only Human
Apr 2004. We are all so vulnerable when it comes to our children. We feel so judged.

I Confess
Feb 2004. For me, one the hardest parts of being a mother is remembering that I’m a human being too, with a right to my own identity, interests, and complexities that have nothing to do with Being A Mother. Part of the reason this is hard to remember is that no one else seems to, either.

Get Real is an ongoing series of original essays and commentary by Abby Arnold. She is a teacher, writer and the mother of a 5 year old son and 3 year old daughter. She lives with her family in North Carolina.

Feel like getting real? Send your comments to Abby Arnold at getreal@mothersmovement.org

editor@mothersmovement.org