Famous quotes by melinda m. marshall:
“Most women of [the WW II] generation have but one image of good motherhood—the one their mothers embodied. . . . Anything done ‘for the sake of the children’ justified, even ennobled the mother’s role. Motherhood was tantamount to martyrdom during that unique era when children were gods. Those who appeared to put their own needs first were castigated and shunned—the ultimate damnation for a gender trained to be wholly dependent on the acceptance and praise of others.”
—Melinda M. Marshall (20th century)
“Stay-at-home mothers, . . . their self-esteem constantly assaulted, . . . are ever more fervently concerned that their offspring turn out better so they won’t have to stoop to say ‘I told you so.’ Working mothers, . . . their self-esteem corroded by guilt, . . . are praying their kids turn out functional so they can stop being defensive and apologetic and instead assert ‘See? I did do it all.’”
—Melinda M. Marshall (20th century)
“Some days your hat’s off to the full-time mothers for being able to endure the relentless routine and incessant policing seven days a week instead of two. But on other days, merely the image of this woman crafting a brontosaurus out of sugar paste and sheet cake for her two-year-old’s birthday drives a stake through your heart.”
—Melinda M. Marshall (20th century)
“True balance requires assigning realistic performance expectations to each of our roles. True balance requires us to acknowledge that our performance in some areas is more important than in others. True balance demands that we determine what accomplishments give us honest satisfaction as well as what failures cause us intolerable grief.”
—Melinda M. Marshall (20th century)
“Whatever we’re doing, whoever we are, it isn’t enough. . . . Little wonder we have trouble finding role models to guide us through these shoals. No one less than God Herself could be all the things we’d like to be to all the people we’d like to feel approval from.”
—Melinda M. Marshall (20th century)