What is your Magnum Opus?

So spent this weekend working the 12 Hours of Mesa Verde mountain bike endurance race, both my husband and daughter were racing. It is out at Phil's World, a 17 mile single track mountain bike trail at the base of Mesa Verde National Park and from 7 in the morning to 7 at night, racers see how many times they can ride it. Winner this year rode it 8 times I think, that is 136 miles if you are wondering.
Friday we check in 600 racers, including the top names in the circuit, from places as far as way as Bozeman, Montana. Since it was Mother's Day weekend, we had little pink ribbons for the moms to tie on their handle bars at the registration table, finding out who the mother's were got downright dangerous.

I would say out of 600 riders, about one fourth were women and out of that one fourth, only one fourth were mothers. The mother's we did find got teary eyed about the ribbons, the others...oh my!
Now the demographic of mountain bike racers is healthy ( very!), educated, and financial secure, and many let us know in no uncertain terms that motherhood was a path of life they had no desire to go down, with comments like "I am a mother of a dog," and my favorite "I have a mother, and have no desire to be one." All the more funny or sad in the fact that all of at the table working to register them were mothers!
Apparently motherhood is not condusive to Endurance Bike Racing. Got me thinking about "Magnum Opus", achieving a great work, a work that tales will be told about - and how much motherhood gets in the way of it!
Please consider these women who achieved a Magnum Opus and the fact......none of them were mothers!

Jane Austen, novalist of Pride and Prejudice and several more and not a mother.

All three Bronte sister, authors of such works as Wethering Heights and Jane Eyre and none of them mothers!

Mary Cassett, friend to the Impressionist and most famous women artist from that time and....not a mother, but is know for her mother and child paintings!!

Georgia O'Keefe, not a mother!

Betrix Potter, not a mother.

Margret Wise Brown, author of many beloved childrens books, but not a mother!

Mothers....are you depressed now? Don't be, never forget that your "Magnum Opus"- your greatest work, is one or many living breathing human beings that your gave life and love to, whatever else you do is just icing on the cake!

This is one of my "Magnum Opus" finishing  her second lap- that is 34 miles for the day!