This week I had an interesting chat with my client and friend. She owns a tech start up and is going through a divorce at the moment with two children.
We talked about life, parenting, challenges and how we overcome them.
She shared that as a child, growing up in Iran, she had to face different realities that gave her the strength to get through difficult situations in life. Her family had to escape war and internal battles in her country.
Without getting into political and country affairs, she concluded with this strong statement:
“I’ve been through so much in life, and I never want my kids to ever experience anything like it. I want to give them the childhood I never had”.
And I felt it. I felt her. Deeply.
I as well grew up in Israel, running into bomb shelters, listening to sirens of whistling bombs over my roof. I felt that fear of losing life. I felt that helplessness of not knowing whether my house is going to explode and if I will still be alive tomorrow.
It’s an odd feeling to have as a child. To see death as an option at such a young age. And it sticks with you for life. It never goes away. The notion that you got out of it.
As a mother from, let’s call it a “challenged country”, you always carry a sense of obligation to over protect your children. Give them everything you didn’t have and more. Over compensate for your childhood by protecting them and providing for them, beyond what you ever had or experienced.
As mothers from countries in wars, we never forget that we got a second chance at life.
As mothers living in the land of the free, we have a special appreciation for freedom and life that we wish we could transfer to our American children, but also happy we can't.
After our call, I realized that when you remove politics, land, oil, and geography...when you remove countries and wars. When we meet and talk as mothers - we are all the same.
We all want our children to experience life fully. To feel free in their country. To be happy.
As mothers, we have unconditional agape love for our children.
As mothers, we could rule the world, peacefully.
As mothers, Israel and Iran would be love.
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