So, I'm a mother of three sons, the last one poised to leave the nest soon too. But I've had the pleasure of having all three of them home this Mother's Day, which made me reflect on this role/state/essence called motherhood. I thought of searching for old books (full-texts) on motherhood that may be available online and found the three books below on the Internet Archive. I find it interesting to note that the first two were written by suffragettes around the turn of the 20th century - reminds me that women's right to vote is a relatively recent constitutional amendment in several affluent Western societies. Browsing the texts however showed me that even though these two were written by women activists, their views on motherhood/womanhood are anything but what we might now expect as "feminist" in orientation.

• Radiant motherhood: A book for those who are creating the future. (1920) by Marie Carmichael Stopes
• The renaissance of motherhood. (1914) by Ellen Key
• Maidenhood and motherhood; or, Ten phases of women's life. (1887) by John D. West

Speaking of expectations, I've been amused over the years in some situations where I was mistaken as perhaps the nanny or the step-mother of these now three young men. I don't know if I should be flattered (I look young?), concerned (I don't have the mien of a mother?) or insulted (I'm lying or not fully qualifying what I mean by being a mother?). So, I'll fully qualify it and say, as far as I know, these three were bulges on my belly for nine months each and came out between my legs, 18 to 22 years ago.