Trials and Tribulations of a New Mommy: The First Law of Motion

Every body continues at rest or in motion in a straight line unless compelled to change by forces impressed upon it. --Isaac Newton

I just finished reading The Other Einstein by Marie Benedict. It's a fictional book based on the historical research done on Albert Einsteins wife, Mileva Maric. The woman, was in my opinion, even more of a mathematical genius than her husband, Einstein. In that time period, women were rarely allowed to go to college and if they did, had to go to amazing feats to be considered and given the chance to show their abilities were just as good as any man's. A woman's place was in her home, with a husband and children and household duties. I mean, who would do them otherwise? Time after time, Mileva fell for Albert's charm. She worked with him on many of his famous papers and he left her name off of all of them, including the one for which he won the Nobel Peace Prize. She allowed this to happen for all too long standing behind him in the shadows, while her mind and feelings toward Albert became dark and bitter. At long last their marriage dissolved to the size of an atom, till there was nothing left to hold on to.

Let's face it son, he was a manipulator, a con man, and didn't know how to help his wife's light shine. You, on the other hand, have an excellent man for a father, an outstanding example of the kind of man to be. If you have been watching him, he will show you all you need to know about letting your wife's light shine in all its glory. And trust me, your life will be easier if you can manage this.

As I reflect on Isaac's first law of motion from Benedict's book, I see myself. I see all my choices piled in front of me and behind me for the last 36 years, like tree limbs jutting out in all directions. Very few times have a chosen a path to stay at rest. I rarely set goals for myself, but I desire to see myself growing mentally in some way each year. So I move, I plan, I think, I propel forward, an object in motion. Every decision made pushes me in a new direction, a new plan, a new course of action.

So that brings me to today. Donald Trump has just become President of the United States. His election into presidency has pushed fear into the forefront of a majority of the world, particularly women. I have no idea what his presidency will bring for our future and I hold no hate toward him or ill will, but God knows we are about to witness some sort of history, the presence of Newton's law of motion. Shit's Bananas, kid, B A N A N A S, in the words of Gwen Stefani.

I digress. Anyway, having been blessed to stand with you in Albert and Mileva's home in Bern, Switzerland where they worked together on scientific theory so far advanced beyond our intellectual understanding, I am in awe. We have walked on the same streets in Prague and Zurich that Mileva and Albert walked with their children. I think of the life of a woman back then, one like Mileva who having made different choices, might have resulted in a completely different outcome "compelled to change by forces impressed upon" her.

Maric was on a path to being an independent woman of great intelligence. Those could have been her papers with her name on the Nobel Peace Prize, but they were stolen from her by her own husband. Someone she loved and trusted. Had she chosen to never marry Albert Einstein how would our scientific theories have changed, advanced, or even more possibly never come to fruition without his ideas compiled with her own. Who knows? But these choices made by these two people back in the late 1800's most certainly changed the future.

And I wonder what kind of man will you be? One like your father, one like President Trump or Einstein? Will you let the woman in your life be an equal? Will you share household chores and support her interests? Will you lift her up and be a man of example, a man others respect and look to for leadership and example?

I like to hope so because then your dad and I have done our jobs. One things for sure though, Newton was right, the first law of motion is legit. Change is inevitable, whether we like it or not. Embrace the change, ride the wave, and if you don't like where the change is taking you, then be the man that makes the difference, be the force.