I’ve been thinking a lot about holding onto grace as a mother (grace –noun elegance or beauty of form, manner, motion, or action).
Starting towards the end of pregnancy and then as the mother of a newborn, it gets increasingly difficult to hold onto to any semblance of grace.
I mean, while pregnant, a woman basically loses control of many of her bodily functions and it’s a while before she gets them back postpartum. Then, on top of that, she has a baby who’s job in life is pretty much to eat, spit-up, sleep, release gas, and poop and THAT becomes her main focus in life.
How in the heck is a woman supposed to be graceful under those circumstances?!
I don’t really have an answer to that question, but I do think it must be possible. I should clarify – I think there are many things that give a woman her femininity or womanliness and motherhood is obviously one of them, graceful or not. But, in my opinion, there is something magical about a graceful woman and that quality is something for which I strive.
I also think grace is not a statement of perfection, but an acknowledgment that a woman deals with her imperfections very well.
On the plane ride to DC this past weekend, I had the same flight attendant on both legs of the trip and there was something about her that I found fascinating. At first, I couldn’t figure out what it was about her that made me want to watch her and, honestly, I felt a little silly staring. AND THEN IT CLICKED: she exuded grace! The way she walked up and down the aisle and the way she responded to the people around her was like watching Jackie O (Jackie Kennedy Onassis).
It reminded me of a Seinfeld rerun I saw recently (I’m actually not a big fan of the show, but my husband LOVES it) where Elaine was interviewing for a job as an assistant to a wealthy man named Mr. Pitt. Mr. Pitt was not the interviewer, he had hired some woman to conduct the interviews for him, and she was telling Elaine about Mr. Pitt’s friendship with Jackie O and how graceful she was and she asked Elaine if she would consider herself a graceful woman. Elaine’s response was something along the lines of, “I have a little grace” and the woman interviewing her said, “Either you have grace or your don’t, there is no in between”.
I thought that was an interesting statement. I wonder if that is true. I’m curious as to what you think on the matter, so please comment on your thoughts. Is grace something someone can attain or is it a trait a person is born with AND do you think a new mother can be graceful, even while covered in spit-up?
>I've been thinking about this post the past two days. 🙂 Growing up, I always thought Princess Diana and Sofia Loren were the epitome of grace.
I think it's something that you grow into – maybe isn't always present but it's certain situations that let it shine through. Grace, for me, is how someone reacts to something unexpected and at times tough to deal with. While the flight attendant may be a very graceful person, she also has the type of job that requires her to be. She is dressed nicely and works in hospitality. I would wonder if she's graceful because she gets paid to be – or graceful because she is just naturally so.
I think grace comes and goes. Not everyone can be graceful all the time – I'm sure even Jackie O. had her moments – certainly Princess Diana did. 🙂 But it's the tough moments in life – the defining ones – and your reaction to them, that classify you as graceful.
That's just my two cents anyway. 🙂