You’re shopping for supper when an infant’s wail pierces the supermarket silence. What’s your reaction? A disdainful sigh because you find noisy kids distracting while you search for stringbeans? A look of sympathy because you figure it’s tough buying groceries with an ill-tempered toddler? You might intuitively crave a child, no matter how loud. You might be a fanatical fertility slacker. If it’s tricky making peace with how you feel about creating this primal connection, join the daughters of Oshun, the Mother Goddess.
The African tribe of Yoruba believed Oshun was the ‘sweet mother of us all’ and the siren of the seas. On a more prosaic level, she was the original single mum. She had loads of kids, and when forced to turn tricks to support them, they were taken from her and put into ‘goddess care’. Eventually a nice bloke married her, her brood was brought back and Oshun became a respected community advisor. She was particularly helpful with pregnancy problems but encouraged all women to rejoice in being female, with or without a bump.
Surrogate mothers, IVF treatments, sperm donations, good old-fashioned fathers… there are myriad methods but babies are still up to you, baby. However they land in your arms, just make sure love is the passionate push behind them. Or you can press ‘snooze’ on that biological clock; hell, be brave and admit you never heard it. Maybe you're not a 'yummy mummy' but an 'awesome aunty'. Like Oshun says, protecting and caring for children is in the realm of all women. You may never change a diaper but it doesn’t mean you don’t give a damn.
Mod Oshun – Angelina Jolie: gorgeous mega-movie-star who has made motherhood a main focus in life. She has one birth daughter, Shiloh (thanks Brad), and three adopted children: Maddox from Cambodia, Zahara from Ethiopia and Pax from Vietnam. Angie ain't the only one... other stars who've adopted include Madonna, Michelle Pfeiffer, Diane Keaton and of course, the 'mother' of them all, Mia Farrow, who has ten adopted children.
