by Ann Romney in USAToday.com
"It's hard to imagine now, but before the birth of my first child, I had never held a baby. Not once, not in my entire life. No baby at home to tend, no niece or nephew to babysit. So you can imagine, the day my first boy was born I felt woefully unprepared.
"My mother took pity on me and stayed for two weeks, but that wasn't nearly enough time. As she was preparing to leave, I cried like I was the baby. I told her that I wasn't ready, that I had no idea what to do. In her smile I saw the truth. Ready or not, my son couldn't wait, and somehow, I would make it through.
"Of course, she was right. Some might say it was the mothering gene kicking in, the same one that every mom throughout history has possessed. Maybe. But I don't think so. I was a good mom because my own mom was the best.
"I suppose my mother was somewhat unusual for her time. At 30 she was — and expected she always would be — a career woman. She worked as a cosmetics rep and was happy in that job. She never expected to get married, but then she found the one man in all the world who could change her mind — my dad.
"The same passion she had for her work she poured into being a mother. I never lacked for confidence or a sense of self-worth. How could I when my mom seemed to think I had hung the moon? People would tell her, as people are wont to do with little girls, that she had a beautiful daughter. 'If only you knew," she would say, "how much more beautiful she is on the inside....'"
Read More: USA Today
