Maternal Instinct

I have noticed that mothers tend to get quite competitive about their children…sometimes even offended if they see other children doing better.

I had a very interesting experience when I was traveling with my daughter on an international flight few months back. There were three other kids of varying ages, shapes and sizes…all standing with their moms ready to board the flight. Each mom (including me) was looking after their own child secretly dreading the journey and thinking “I wish they could transpond me like they do in Star Trek and save me from this eternal flight journey.” And yet, outwardly every mom was as composed as ever, with an air of – “My child is so much better behaved than yours!” And then it happened….

One of the kids started throwing up pretty violently. My first instinct was to help the kid and his mom. I started searching my purse for wipes, tissues and all sorts of things that I thought would be helpful and so did the other moms. I am not exaggerating when I say - as if it was a pre-planned strategic operation, we four strangers worked together and took care of the situation within minutes.

No matter how much we want our kids to be better than their peers (secretly or otherwise), the “maternal instinct” is so strong… when the time comes, it doesn’t really matter who the child is!