The Mother blog.

There is an old adage. It's "country wisdom" mainly. It says "do not get between a mother bear and her cubs".
Because a bear is a dangerous creature but a mother bear will eat your liver and like it.
Not because she's a bear, because she's a mother.
I have seen this in action in more than just bears.

I have seen a woman with a high school education (admittedly by chance only, she shoulda been in university) educate herself on  genetics  to better communicate with doctors about her child. Genetics is not Sesame street boys and girls, it's heavy stuff. But she's a mother so stand back.
She has a blog:

http://cleverlydisguisedascake.blogspot.ca/2012/03/defining-normal_25.html

I have seen my sister, in kidney and liver failure in ICU fighting off anxiolytics and nurses cause somebody took her baby and she wanted him back. Now.

I have seen my mother threaten the life of the third grade teacher who hit me with a ruler till I had welts. And that woman was scared. If she didn't know Jesus before this incident I'm betting she found him soon after.

I have never seen my sister in law have to go nuts over her boys....but I would back her  in a fight against a fully grown man any day of the week. For reals.

Mothers stay up all night and go to work the next day. Mothers lift cars and run into burning buildings and wear macaroni necklaces to board meetings. 

There are genetic and neuro chemical reasons for the overwhelming dedication of motherhood. We don't need to go into that. It's boring. 

What my point is (and I promise there is one Internet) is that with all this genetic / neuro chemical / mother bear business floating around there are some women who don't do the job. Not even a little.

And I find this confusing. To a dizzying extent. 

What is it that would compel a woman to leave her child, unless the child would be safer? What compels women to hurt their children? Sell them? Neglect them? Kill them?

And to be clear, I'm not talking about leaving your kids to go away for the weekend. I'm talking about abandoning them, leaving toddlers to their own devices. Buying drugs instead of food. Ignoring illnesses.

I don't pretend to understand. I spend some time thanking the Creator of All that Is that I don't understand. 

I don't have kids. I have nephews. So maybe I'm not qualified to even wonder about mothers who don't look after their babies. But I am still wondering. 

I think these women who don't look after their babies must be broken. Deep down broken. 

I can't decide whether to feel sorrier for the mothers or the babies. 

Maybe I won't decide. 

Maybe I'll just hug the babies I know and be grateful for the mothers we have.