I want eight more children by Rosemary Clooney (October 1960)
	Every time I read one of those stories about how wonderful it is for a woman to have a career and how dull it is just to be a wife and mother, I get mad. I'm in a pretty good position to judge, don't you think? I had a certain measure of success as a singer before I married Jose Ferrer, and we've had five babies in five years. To me, there's no satisfaction, no security for a woman that compares with having children. It's great to be a mother--so great I'm going to keep right on having babies. I'd love to have seven or eight more children. A lot of people can't understand why a professional performer should prefer maternity clothes to gorgeous stage gowns. I've worn maternity clothes so much in the past five years, even on TV, that folks forget I can wear anything else. During my act at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York last month, I made my entrance in a loose red coat, and I could hear the customers muttering, "My gosh--she's expecting again!" Well I'm not, right now. But personally--and professionally, too--I wish I were. They tell me I"ve already sold 25 million recods, but having babies has actually improved my voice. When I listen to recordings I made before I was married, I'm amazed. There was a "not-quite-sure" quality in my voice then. Now I sing with confidence. My children have given me a sense of accomplishment I never had as a singer. No success as a performer could have given me the security I have now, as a woman. But I'm glad I'm a performer, too. It gives me the chance to spend more time with my children than most mothers. I try to concentrate my show business appearance in a few months out of the year, so we can all be together. But truthfully, my career doesn't seem as important to me now as it did before I married Joe. There's responsibility in work, but the greatest responsibility a woman can have is bringing up children, teaching them to appreciate the love of family as much as I do.