Prompted by something I saw on Twitter, and in honor’s of Mother’s/Mothering Day, who is a mom on a television show that you always especially liked, admired or may who you aspired to be like? And reasons why??
I have to go with one of the popular choices. Clair Huxtable. Look at her - even standing out with no “e” on her first name. She was her own person, had her own interests, was a loving supportive mom and wife and daughter but also didn’t hesitate to own her home and values to raise a family and to use her words and actions to promote that. Fun, smart, beautiful, active.
A runner up might be Elyse Keaton (Family Ties) - again, her own woman while being an involved mom. A little quirky, a little hippy. Created a warm comfortable home. A good listener but not afraid to speak her own mind.
I’m not having to inspire to be like her because I’m not married to a racist, sexist, jerk, but I always admired Edith Bunker because she was always there for her kids, standing up for them and what was right in spite of Archie’s shortcomings.
I don’t have a lot to compare to though. I rarely watched TV growing up and the shows I did sometimes watch weren’t those types of family shows. (Gilligan’s Island, Hogan’s Heroes, Beverly Hillbillies, MASH, Columbo, etc)
Florence Henderson on the Brady Bunch. Anyone who could be the parent of three and the step parent to three more and do it with the sense of humor she had…deserves my praise.
I also liked Donna Reed…sort of in that Harriet Nelson ilk.
Natasha Richardson in The Parent Trap. She was so cool, and her joy in being with her girls shined so bright. I’m not one to follow celebrities, but when she died, I felt awful for her sons because I imagine that’s the kind of mother she was in real life.
Also:
Marmee March from Little Women
Violet Bridergerton
M’Lynn from Steel Magnolias
And Elastigirl, the mom from The Incredibles. I cry when she saves her kids from the plane crash—I wish I could keep my kids safe like that.
Morticia Adams - She upholds family standards that were different than the standards of the rest of the world. She embraces each child’s oddities and encourages them to pursue their talents and interests. She loves her husband passionately and the children know that their parents work together as a unit - not one against the other.
Caroline Ingalls for sure. She was beautiful, smart, and could do ANYTHING and do it well: cooking, dressmaking, harvesting wheat, rearing children, running a restaurant, working a switchboard, tending farm animals and much more. She was never afraid and never complained. Loyal to her man. She was even prepared to cut off her leg because it was severely infected! She had cool and dignified comebacks for the town troublemaker. She was a loving mom to her own kids and even took in someone else’s child and raised him as her own. Hard to top her.
Minnie Driver in Speechless! Now I don’t necessarily approve of some of her methods in reality, but for a sit-com mom some of the plots are brilliant and keep things light-hearted and entertaining-able to show some humor as a family about navigating life with the unique challenges of having a member with a disability. The oldest son has a visible disability and is main character and not just in the background.
She was her own person, had her own interests, was a loving supportive mom and wife and daughter but also didn’t hesitate to own her home and values to raise a family and to use her words and actions to promote that. Fun, smart, beautiful, active.
For Caroline Ingalls, that show in general taught me so much about being a good person/values.