Thinking this morning about doulaing and mothering and this song comes on in the car...
When I think about hands it makes me think of the story of Granny Bonne and how the fairies gave her a wish for being a good midwife to them. Wise Granny knew material things can be lost or taken away so she said "make my hands so's they'll always be of some use"... she receives into her hands "comfort and goodness and tales and tears".
Most of mothering and doulaing is rolling your sleeves up and using your hands in service and for comfort. Preparing a meal, washing hair, cleaning bodily fluids, tender touch. It's the sacred in the mundane. At the last birth I went to, my dungarees were soaked with pool water and dried out on my body three times. It's being able to hold all the stories of the families you've served and dispense collective wisdom with tea and reassurance. It's being a small woman and still giving the firmest counterpressure when needed.
It also makes me think of the scapular the Mother gave us as a gift to show that we belong to Her, and how writer Perdita Finn while researching it realised it was nothing more profound than a mother's apron. And yet what could be more profound, more loving, than showing up and doing what is needed?
Ahava and blessings,
Jenny xxx
