For moms: there is no accounting for taste

...And for all of them: flowers. For those who gave birth and for those who raise; for those who embrace motherhood as their job and vocation; for those who take their children to the field, to the workshop, to the office. For those who share motherhood with other mothers; those who choose or take on the challenge of mothering alone and, of course, also for those who do it with dad by their side or very close.

Each one has been involved in the life of her children as she could or as she was able to. Examples abound throughout history.

Mariana—we know—did not admit tears. For her, the most important thing was freedom, and she offered her children with the commitment of the Maceo family. Juana Azurduy, the liberator of Bolivia, joined her husband in the Spanish-American wars of independence for emancipation. None other than Bolívar promoted her to the rank of colonel. She gave birth to five children and lost four due to hunger and the hardships of war. Altruistic mothers, who give themselves as if they had given birth to an entire town.

Without Nancy Edison, many of the inventions that revolutionized the world, such as photography and the incandescent lamp, would not exist without this woman's fortitude. When Thomas Edison had been going to school for a few months, he came home crying one day. The teacher had told him that he would always be sterile and unproductive. The outraged mother stood up at the school and demanded that the son be given adequate attention, but since the school system was not able to integrate him happily, Nancy Edison made a decision that would mark the son's destiny: educate him at home herself.

The mother of the brilliant Polish scientist Irene Joliot Curie raised another genius with her husband: her daughter was awarded, like her parents, María and Pedro Curie, with the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Belgian tennis player Kim Clijsters, among the best of all time, retired from tennis at the age of twenty-three, after having her daughter, and after two years, she returned to the professional world to become the first woman to rank number one of the world ranking after becoming a mother. Living motherhood with total dedication, but without abandoning personal dreams and aspirations, is a possible challenge; many have proven it right throughout history.

There is no formula, no instruction book, no regulation. At this point we should not be fooled with assessments and questions. Throughout history, there have been all kinds of mothers, and I hope it remains that way forever. Let love be the only standard, and no one the judge. Happy motherhood.

Translated by Sergio A. Paneque Díaz / CubaSí Translation Staff