being a responsible mommy

Being a mother is arguably the most important job a woman could ever have. For that reason, I am constantly debating in my mind whether I should be a mom or not. Its too big of a decision to be taken lightly and unfortunately, its a decision thats made everyday without a second thought. There are many ways to be a responsible mother and I believe there are many components to being responsible for a child. Being only financially responsible does not cut it and being only emotionally responsible for that child does that cut it either. There is not a precise recipe but responsible motherhood takes time, money, effort, patience...the list goes on. What we have been discussing in class today is motherhood in the military and the now famous, 14-child Mom. Personally, if a woman wants to have a baby and be in the military, thats her choice to make. Many men make the same choice to be a parent while continuing to serve and for that reason, women should be able to make the same decision. Do I think its the smartest choice? No. But having the freedom to make that choice- is priceless and absolutely necessary. As for the 14-child Mom, I  just shake my head. Of course I don't agree with her lifestyle (thousands in student loans, food stamps and family drama) but as of right now, we cannot prevent women from having children and we can also not prevent them from having a certain number of children. She had the right to make the decision she made. Again, it was not the best choice in my opinion. However, while I may not agree with the way some people choose to live their lives, its not up to me or anyone else to decide that. I know how I will live my life... and really, thats all I need to worry about.