And the voice said:
Neither snow nor rain nor gloom of night shall stay these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds. 'Cause when love is gone, there's always justice. And when justice is gone, there's always force. And when force is gone, there's always Mom. Hi Mom.
-- Laurie Anderson, O Superman
Ladies.... and I'm talking to you Senator Boxer, Senator Feinstein, Senator Gillibrand, Senator Hagan, Senator Klobuchar, Senator Landrieu, Senator Lincoln, Senator McCaskill, Senator Murray, Senator Shaheen, Senator Stabenow, and Senator Snowe.
I apologize in advance for what I'm about to say. I'm going to hit you with a low blow. I'm not doing this to be cruel. I'm doing this because I care. I'm going to take you somewhere you really don't want to go. I'm going to remind you of something you have worked hard to forget.
Remember the fear of motherhood? You know what I'm talking about.
I'm talking about that moment when the walls closed in and the bottom fell out. The moment when you realized no matter what happened, no matter how tired you were, no matter how much it hurt, no matter how scared you were, you had a job to do and there was no one else who could do it but you. I'm talking about the moment when you looked down at the footprints you had left in the sands of time and saw just one set and you knew deep down in your heart no one was carrying you. I'm talking about the moment when it finally hit you that you were Mom.
I'm not talking about how it turned out later; all the smiles, the hugs, the handmade cards with poorly drawn pictures you put up on the refrigerator, or tip toeing in to watch them sleep so you could remember why you worked so hard.
I'm talking about lying there in the dark counting kicks and worrying when the next one didn't come. Worrying what was going to happen next and what happened if your worst nightmare came true. Worrying about what you didn't know. Worrying how the hell you were going to make it through the day when you could barely make it to the bathroom?
Men can talk trash about hard labor and you can laugh quietly to yourself now because you know what real labor is. But you weren't laughing when your feet were up in those stirrups, were you? God help the man stupid enough to be within arm's reach when he tried to calm you down by cracking a joke.
I'm talking about three o'clock feeding when it hurts to stand up. All those days you came home from a hard day of doing everything the guys did, except you had to do it in high heels and backwards only to learn there were hungry mouths to feed and that was your job too. Being a success at everything you did and still worrying you were failing at being a mother because you were working so hard to be a success at everything you did.
I'm talking about unplanned trips to the emergency room. The phone ringing in the middle of the night. The moment on the play ground or the mall when you lost sight of the kid. The way your heart jumped when you heard the loud crash in another part of the house. Tending to sick children when everyone in the house, including you, is sicker than a dog.
What's worse, holding the child firmly so the doctor can get an iv in and having to listen to them screaming "Don't let him hurt me!" or holding firm on a point you now is important and still having to listen to your child screaming "I hate you! I hate you! I hate you!" as they stormed out of the room and maybe your life?
In spite of all that, you ladies got through it because you had no choice. As a result you all forged your will in the fire of motherhood and gained powers you never imagined. There's a reason Mommy's kisses work better than Tylenol. There's a reason the best female marathon runners are often mothers. There's a reason "Yo Momma" is fightin' words in every language. There's a reason men dying in combat commonly call for mommy with their last breath.
Guys can be as dumb as rocks but we know one thing is true. If we had to raise the kids ourselves, humans would not have survived as a species. We don't have the staying power. We're good at crunch time and great for heavy lifting. But we're just not built for the long haul.
And now a bunch of guys think they can stand in the way of health care reform .... by talking it to death? Someone must be slipping some strong stuff into their coffee if they think that's going to fly. We're talking about a bunch of old guys who probably kid themselves they can handle one more war or two more women. Guys who can't perform without the miracles of modern medicine. Guys who can't even stay awake for their own committee meetings. And they're going to threaten a marathon?
Oh please.... I pray they are stupid enough to try that.
I'm a betting man and I would bet money that if they step in to the ring this fight won't go the distance. Because no matter what these senators throw at you ladies, there's one thing you have they don't. Stamina.
Before you were a senator, you were Mom. After you die, you will still be Mom. But right now there are millions of moms out there who are every bit as scared as you once were, and they are depending on you. At this point, there's only one question that really matters. What are you going to do, Senator Mom?