I recently watched Mona Lisa Smile. I haven’t seen it in a long while and forgot just how much I love it. The first time I ever saw the movie, I was no where near the mama path. In fact, I bordered on anti-mama {or anti-children}. A lot can happen in seven years.

{photo credit}

If you aren’t familiar with Mona Lisa Smile, it’s the story of a free-thinking art professor {Katherine} at a conservative all girls college who challenges the girls to question their traditional societal roles. Most of the students desire to marry {and marry young}, have a home and children. Katherine scoffs at the idea of giving up their education just for homemaking; scoffs at the idea of choosing something “less”. In one scene, Katherine finds out that her student Joan has eloped and decided to not attend law school.

Joan Brandwyn: It was my choice, not to go {to law school}. He {husband} would have supported it.
Katherine Watson: But you don’t have to choose!
Joan Brandwyn: No, I have to. I want a home, I want a family! That’s not something I’ll sacrifice.
Katherine Watson: No one’s asking you to sacrifice that, Joan. I just want you to understand that you can do both.
Joan Brandwyn: Do you think I’ll wake up one morning and regret not being a lawyer?
Katherine Watson: Yes, I’m afraid that you will.
Joan Brandwyn: Not as much as I’d regret not having a family, not being there to raise them. I know exactly what I’m doing and it doesn’t make me any less smart. This must seem terrible to you.
Katherine Watson: I didn’t say that.
Joan Brandwyn: Sure you did. You always do. You stand in class and tell us to look beyond the image, but you don’t. To you a housewife is someone who sold her soul for a center hall colonial. She has no depth, no intellect, no interests. You’re the one who said I could do anything I wanted. This is what I want.

I have searched high and low for the video clip {so much better to see than read}. My jaw dropped. Literally. I confess that for years I thought housewives had no depth, no intellect, no interests. I thought they sold themselves short, sold themselves out for what they were told they should want. Little did I know, it’s actually what they wanted. It’s what I want.

Mothering has changed me in so many ways. It has opened my eyes to far more than I bargained for – my sins and my faults, but also my hidden talents and untapped desires. As a housewife, as a mother, I know that the women who choose this path are amazing. They are brilliant, they are creative. Even more, they change lives, they turn little babies into mature adults, they make nothing into something. They hold the world’s most important job – being a mother.