No matter how many glass ceilings the contemporary woman breaks through, nothing is as fulfilling as being a mother.
That is the view of singer Carlene Davis, a mother and grandmother.
Davis, whose career spans over 45 years, told the Jamaica Observer that motherhood does not come with a diploma.
“As a woman of faith, wife, mother, and grandmother, there are so many hats to wear. Motherhood is a responsibility, it comes with an ability to love beyond your wildest dream. This is one area in life no one ever taught us how to be mothers, I tell my children all the time, you can never un-mother me, no matter how old you are, I will always be your mother, and this includes my bonus children, those I didn’t give birth to, and it gets even better as a grandmother,” she reasoned. “You love, care, serve, worry, make enormous sacrifices and pray for the rest of one’s life when it comes to motherhood.”
The 71 year-old Davis is scheduled to perform at the Mother’s Day Awards Concert in Turks and Caicos. She is one of eight who will be honoured during the event which is held under the distinguished patronage of the premier for the Turks and Caicos Islands, Dr Washington Misick, and first lady Delthia Misick.
She recalls having a strong relationship with her mother Chrystal, a bond that strengthened when Davis became a mother over 35 years ago.
An ordained minister of religion, she believes motherhood in Jamaica has changed since her childhood.
“Today, a lot of women are pursuing a career path before settling in motherhood, which means having children later in life. In earlier years, once out of high school, even before higher education, it was common to be asked for their hand in marriage,” she said. “On the other side of the spectrum, today you are also seeing children having children before completing high school. When this happens there is a great need to educate our girls and young women about the importance of how to be the best mother they can be under these circumstances.”