I'm a Mormon, yes I am!

Where were you in 1980? I was marching through my living room singing songs off the Janeen Brady "Songs for a Mormon Child" cassette tape, played ad nauseum. But that's not exactly accurate; the repeated wear on the tape did not exhaust my patience, but probably my parents. Click right here and you too can sing along. "I'm a Mormon" was probably my favorite song, but "When I grow up, I want to be a Mother" was a close second. I can't look at a yellow balloon without singing the song in my head (even though my girls have always been partial to the pink ones). But---I've gone through stages in my life where I have found that song to be either:

a) a very sweet sentiment
b) amusing
c) or slightly discomfiting

Here are the lyrics:
"When I grow up I want to be a mother
And have a family
One little, two little, three little babies of my own

Of all the jobs, for me I'll choose no other
We'll have a family
Four little, five little, six little babies in my home

And I will love them all day long
And give them cookies and milk and yellow balloons
And cuddle them when things go wrong
And read them stories and sing them pretty tunes

When I grow up if I can be a mother
How happy I will be
One little, two little, three little babies I can love

And you will see each sister and each brother
Who look a lot like me
Four little, five little, six little blessings from above"

I actually always did want to grow up to be a mother--it is the best job I could have. I have probably never enjoyed and appreciated being a mother more than I do right now. I even sing the song to my own girls, but with a bit of reservation because some of the wording irks me and I'm not sure that it should. I agree with the message behind it, but there must be a feminist bent to me or something because I want to add some verses to the song.

Something like:
"When I grow up, I want to be a loving wife . . " and
"When I grow up, I want to get an education . . " and
"When I grow up, I want to develop my talents . ." and
"When I grown up, I want to have the skills to support my family if I have to . . " and
"When I grow up, I want to have cultivated interests and skills so that I still have a colorful life once the kids have left the house . . ."

Yes- those are the verses that I want to add. But I'm not too good at rhyming, so I'll continue to sing the song as-is and just have to teach the rest by example.