Angelina Jolie, American actress and filmmaker has opened up about her journey to being a mother.
The Oscar-winning actress, 44, got candid about being mother in a special edition of Time‘s Parents newsletter as its contributing editor. In an open letter addressed to parents as a part of her guest-editing stint for the publication, Jolie — who is a mom to Maddox, 18, Pax, 16, Zahara, 15, Shiloh, 13, and twins Knox and Vivienne, 11, — shared that she wasn’t always so confident in her skills as a guardian and a caretaker to three adopted and three biological children.
“I was not a very stable youth. In fact, I never thought I could be anyone’s mom,” she wrote. “I remember the decision to become a parent. It wasn’t hard to love. It wasn’t hard to dedicate myself to someone and something greater than my life.”
“What was hard was knowing that from now on I needed to be the one to make sure everything was okay. To manage it and make it work. From food to school to medical. Whatever would come. And to be patient,” she continued.
“I realized I stopped my constant daydreaming; instead, staying always ready for any break into what I was doing or thinking to answer a need. It was a new skill to acquire.”
On working from home amid the pandemic
Working from her home, along with her six children being homeschooled, Jolie went on to empathize with “all the mothers and fathers with children at home” amid the ongoing coronavirus crisis, who are presumably “hoping they can do everything right, answer all needs, and stay calm and positive.”
“One thing that has helped me is to know that is impossible,” she shared as her piece of advice to parents.
“It is a lovely thing to discover that your children don’t want you perfect. They just want you honest. And doing your best,” she explained. “In fact, the more room they have to be great where you are weak, the stronger they may become. They love you. They want to help you.”
Angelina Jolie filed for divorce from Brad Pitt, fellow actor in September 2016, citing irreconcilable differences.
The couple had been together since 2004 but only tied the knot in 2014.