As I get older I find the topic of history more fascinating. Perhaps it is the discovery of another white hair on my head or the creak of my ankle popping as a I walk down the stairs. Maybe it is the realization that the popular Hollywood stars are younger than me. Or maybe it is the realization that I've lived possibly one-third of my life already. Whatever the reason, history is becoming more important in my life.
In high school I found history boring and difficult to memorize. Perhaps it was the monotonous tone of voice and teaching styles some of my history teachers used in the classroom, but I had a couple of history teachers who were passionate and creative yet I still found myself yawning in history class.
In college I skimmed the surface of history and found it slightly more interesting, but my passion for biology and art overwhelmed my mind and body, demanding my time and energy.
Now that I am 31 with two children I find myself intrigued by history. Thoughts and questions about what happened a decade ago or even a century crowd my mind, but my real interest is in what happened thousands of years ago. As I nurse my baby I try to imagine babies and mothers 20,000 years ago. What stories did our ancient mother share? Perhaps it is a little bit of post-pregnancy emotions, but I feel sad that I wasn't there, that I missed out on seeing and experiencing motherhood during that time period. I long to know what the mothers and babies did, what they talked about, how they lived.
Motherhood, pregnancy, nursing, childbirth... I know the biology of these experiences tells us that they are generally the same today as they were thousands of years ago, but the context in which the occur is certainly different.
Storytelling among writer-mamas, passing on stories from mother to child, and writing our stories as mothers will give future mothers thousands of years from now an insight into our experiences today. Literature on motherhood is spreading like wildfire and it is exciting that more and more mothers are finding their niche in writing about their experiences as mothers.
So please share your stories with us! What fascinates you the most with history?
3 comments:
Interesting post. I am also amazed at how the things I used to have no interest in whatsoever now find their way into my head quite often!
Great post. I too never enjoyed history when in school. Oh how the youth is wasted on the young...LOL. I particularly enjoy the Revolutionary War period.
Regards,
Donna
That is interesting and something you can really get into. I wasn't much for history at school, I was more into english, and writing and stories etc etc..
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