In honor of Mother’s Day, we interviewed a military mom from each of the past eight decades. We enjoyed hearing what has changed and what has stayed the same. From fads to parenting techniques to timeless advice, moms have an opinion on it all. In addition, each interviewee holds a special place in the interviewer’s heart.
Find all seven of our posts from this series here!
Motherhood Through the Decades: 1940s and 1950s
“In those days, it wasn’t easy. The doctors couldn’t even find out, so it took a while to be sure. We did tell people when I was pregnant but didn’t know the gender. There were no ultrasounds. If “the rabbit died,” you were pregnant.”
Motherhood Through the Decades: 1960s
“I kept her too clean. That’s not as important now. But things were meant to be a certain way back then…I wouldn’t let her ride a camel. If I could go back, I would have let her ride the camel.”
Motherhood Through the Decades: 1970s and the Vietnam War
“If I could do it over again, I wouldn’t have been so concerned about how clean my house was. I would have spent more time sitting with my kids and just reading books or playing. I see moms now at the store and their kids are in pajamas with no shoes, and that is normal and fine. But when my girls were babies, we were judged harshly for taking a baby out without a proper outfit and shoes.”
Motherhood Through the Decades: 1980s
“We were such a good support to each other. Being military wives is like having built-in sisters. We shared so much with each other and helped each other get through some scary or hard assignments our husbands were assigned to while we were left to care for the family.”
Motherhood Through the Decades: 1990s
“You were delivered on base by the emergency room doctor who had never delivered a baby before. When I arrived, screaming, he told me to shut up and push, so I shut up and pushed, and you were born. The doctor took you around the entire hospital to show everyone that he had delivered a baby. Your dad had been playing a double header baseball game and left in the middle of the first game, saw you born, and then left to play the second game. The other ladies at the game were shocked he left me, and got on him for leaving, but I had kicked him out. He was a ball of nerves and was driving me crazy. [HA!]”
Motherhood Through the Decades: 2000s
“As a military spouse, it can be challenging when the active duty member deploys and you are no longer wearing just the ‘mom hat.’ You now must maintain both ‘mom and dad’ roles. Robert has deployed 13 times in the last 28 years. Knowing I was solely responsible for the children didn’t give me much room not to be focused. Trying to stay a step ahead and prepare for difficult moments kept me straight.”
Motherhood Through the Decades: 2010s
“The other most challenging part of being a mom is the pressure to be “perfect.” Downfall to social media – it seems like everyone is always doing everything right and living the best life possible. I tried to be that mom who is there for every event, who bakes and cooks and sews in a spotless house, who can work and provide an income, who can have time for friends and a social life, who can parent flawlessly … and it’s a myth. If I can remember that all parents are struggling and just doing the best they can, it is a lot easier for me to be a mom.”
