Reflections on Identity

Lately I have this unsettled feeling sometimes about becoming a mother. This shouldn't be taken the wrong way- I am overjoyed at the whole thing. But sometimes I wonder if I will completely lose myself. You meet people- especially moms who stay at home with their children, who become nothing but mom. Everything they were before the baby seems to disappear- it gets buried so deep inside that it is hardly a part of who she is anymore. I know that my life is changing, completely and permanently, but I also know that it is possible- and I think very important for mine and my child's well being- to remain as much "me" as ever. I have dreams and passions that I have to work to hold on to in the midst of all the intense change. I can incorporate them into the way I raise my baby, rather than throwing them to the side and becoming someone else. But it must be a conscious effort, not to be a "normal" mother- but rather to be myself, as a mother. I am not afraid of being unconventional- I more afraid not to be. Unique and thinking parents are destined to raise unique and thinking children.