The Greatest Myths, Legends, Fables, Fairy Tales, & Short Stories Ever Told.

Ava

There once lived a little girl named Ava. One day at school, the teacher asked all the children to write down what they wanted to be when they grow up. After all the students turned in their answers, the teacher was appalled by Ava's response and demanded that Ava see her after class.

The teacher said, "Quite frankly Ava, I have to say that I am absolutely appalled by your answer. How dare you say that you want to be a mother when you grow up! You need to aim higher than that Ava, do not sell yourself short honey."

Ava responded by saying, "But it has always been my dream to be a mother and to raise and to have beautiful children."

The teacher became even more upset and said, "You little whore! How dare you! Are you unaware that women have been fighting long and hard to give you and future women the opportunity to pursue careers outside the home? The fact that you want to conform to your gender role and to be nothing more than a housewife is gravely insulting. You are spitting in all those brave women's faces....Shame!" She shouted.

Ava dejected and remorseful said, "I'm sorry... I didn't know it was so bad to want to be a mother."

The teacher sighed, "Ava...it's not that you want to be a mother that is so revolting, it's the fact that you ONLY want to be a mother. You should want to have a prestigious career as well as wanting to be a mother. You can do both, like Kelly's mom."

Ava replied, "Kelly doesn't even talk to her mom, she calls her a bitch."

The teacher slapped Ava in the face and screamed, "How dare you! Kelly's mom should be what every young girl should strive to be. She is the CEO of a major corporation and a mother of three. I hope you know that she just bought Kelly's older sister a brand new Ferrari. Furthermore, she always takes the girls on shopping sprees and buys them iPhones, iPads, laptops and Starbucks Frappuccinos! If that isn't love than I need to reexamine the word love in the dictionary when I return home tonight to my cats."

Ava downcast and embarrassed of her naivety, returned to the classroom the following day and informed the teacher that she wanted to become a lawyer.

The teacher elated that she got through to Ava said, "I am absolutely pleased to hear that Ava. I am delighted that you are now actually striving to be something of worth."

Ava was intelligent, she got good grades, got into a good law school, graduated at the top of her class and got a job at one of the top law firms in the country. She worked long hours for years attempting to make it as a partner.

By the time Ava reached her mid 30's, she continued to work long hours moving closer and closer to reaching her goal of becoming a partner of the firm. Even though this was her primary goal, the longing to be a mother still lingered in the back of her mind.

So she found a decent enough man, got married and bore a child.

She had a beautiful daughter and wanted to spend every minute with her, but her maternity leave was about to expire, so she had to make a tough decision.

She decided to pursue the partnership at her firm since she already committed so much time and effort to that goal. She placed her daughter in the hands of various babysitters, nannies, au-pairs and daycare centers.

She then bore two more children, making it even more difficult to find time for them all. She began to worry about finances as well, so she worked even harder and longer hours to become a partner.

A few more years passed and Ava finally accomplished her dream of becoming partner at the firm. Ava and her husband celebrated, but later that night Ava felt remorse when she began to think about what she sacrificed to attain this goal.

She came unto the realization that she missed some of the most important moments in her children's lives. She missed their first words, first steps, trips to the park, trips to the zoo and so much more. But at least she was making a lot of money so that her kids could have everything they ever wanted. That helped Ava sleep that night.

Her kids grew older, had resentment towards both parents as they were never around, and when they were around, they were not actually present. Both were on their phones worrying about work and their important clients. Since these clients were far more important than their children.

Ava never developed that great relationship she always dreamed of having with her children, but at least she got to say she accomplished a lot in her career while being a "mother." She was featured in magazines and spoke at large conferences being called a supermom, even though she herself knew that was all a lie.

She eventually got the chance to make amends when her eldest had a child. She got to be a grandmother. She retired and moved closer so that she could help raise her granddaughter while her daughter worked. She got to observe and experience all the important moments that she missed with her own daughters. She got to develop a real relationship with her grandchild.

Ava died happily, finally realizing her dream of being a mother. Even if it wasn't to her own children, she realized the term "mother," meant something far more than just being the person who gave birth to the child. 

The End