No Tolerance

     My tolerance for stories of separation between parents and children is just about zero.  I never noticed before how prevalent it is.  First there’s the news, stories of abducted or missing children among other equally horrible events happening to sweet, innocent babies.  TV shows have their share, Law & Order: SVU, Bones, even NCIS.  Eventually there’s a story-line that centers around a parent killed or a child killed.  I wouldn’t say I ever enjoyed that type of story, I don’t think I ever really thought about it.  But now, they make me sick.  Literally, physically sick to my stomach.  

     I’ve bailed on movies too.  I started watching The Secret Life of Bees one day and nearly turned it off after 5 minutes.  I did stick it out though.  It was an okay movie.  The movie that really made me realize this all was Tangled.  Yes, the Disney movie.  The fairy tale story of Rapunzel, whose long luscious hair is the only way in or out of the tower until a prince (or in this case a ruffian) sets her free, made me nauseous.  Well, not quite nauseous.  I didn’t turn it off.  But I did sit horrified as I realized how many fairy tales deal with the separation of parent and child.  (Well, they don’t really ‘deal‘ with it.)  The list is quite long.  Besides Rapunzel there’s Alladin (he’s an orphan and she’s got no mom), Lion King (Mufasa dies), Finding Nemo, The Little Mermaid (no mom, right?), Jungle Book, 101 Dalmatians, Sleeping Beauty (raised by fairies instead of parents), Snow White, Cinderella, and my personal favorite Disney movie Beauty and the Beast where not only does she not have a mom but her father is thrown out of the castle before she even gets to say goodbye! 

     Whew.  I probably could have kept going but this is not a bash Disney post.  Becoming a mom has made me hyper aware of many things and the prevalence of this plot line in stories highlights the importance of my job as a mom.  I am going back to work next week.  But my first (perhaps most important job) is being a mom, and I am so happy to be one.
     Motherhood has changed me, how has it changed you?