I think birth and motherhood are not things that you're trained to do. You might have a good example in your own mum, but nobody teaches you how to be a really great mum.
Interpretation
Motherhood is an innate experience that cannot be fully taught or prepared for.
In this quote, Julie Andrews emphasizes the idea that while having a mother as an example can provide some guidance, the journey of motherhood is primarily learned through personal experience rather than formal training or instruction. This highlights the challenges and uncertainties that come with parenting, suggesting that love and dedication are more critical than acquired skills.
In practice
During a parenting workshop, you might quote this to highlight the importance of real-life experiences.
I've learned a lot of things about myself through singing. I used to have a certain dislike of the audience, not as individual people, but as a giant body who was judging me. Of course, it wasn`t really them judging me. It was me judging me. Once I got past that fear, it freed me up, not just when I was performing but in other parts of my life.
Singing has been a cherished gift, and my inability to sing has been a devastating blow.
My mother was terribly important to me, and I know how much I yearned for her in my youth, but I don't think I truly trusted her.
I come from a long line of below-stairs maids and gardeners. Good ol' peasant stock. My mother and her sister made a quantum leap out of that life. Then I made another quantum leap.
Every time I go out to perform, believe me. You never lose that fear of, 'I hope I do it right. I hope I don't fall flat on my face. I hope this will be good for them.'
Success is terrifying. Like happiness, it is often appreciated in retrospect. It's only later that you place it in perspective. Years from now, I'll look back and say, ‘God, wasn't it wonderful.’
Real luxury is having the time to read endless stories in bed with my children. And I get that all the time. I'm so blessed.
One of my main wishes in wanting to write about my mother was to explore the impact of her death on my life, explore our relationship, think about the different versions of myself that I was with and without her. I also had the really strong wish to bring her to life for my children, who were born after she was gone.
The nature of impending fatherhood is that you are doing something that you're unqualified to do, and then you become qualified while doing it.
I'm proud of being a mother, a wife, a daughter, and a sister, and a lover and a friend We're all God's children.
Mothers are a biological necessity; fathers are a social invention
Reading was a huge part of my life as a child - we were a family of storytellers.
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