Sandra Bullock is making the rounds doing interviews for her new movie Ocean’s 8. At the Today Show, the discussion with a long-time friend, Hoda Kotb turned to family. The actress admitted she doesn’t work much anymore because she enjoys spending her time at home with her children, Louis and Laila.
Kotb asked her what she would list as her top priorities. “It’s my kids,” she said. “Everything is about them being ok, being in school, having what they need, their moments. I need to be there for every single moment that they have. It’s harder for me to leave them than I think it is for them when I leave. I don’t leave that much, and I don’t work that much anymore either… So my priorities are my kids, my kids, my kids. My family. My family. That’s it.”
As Bullock reached her 40’s she thought her window of opportunity to become a mother was closing, and then everything changed. She recalled “Katrina happened in New Orleans and something told me, ‘My child is there.’ It was weird.” Bullock shared her story publicly to show others that there is no time limit on motherhood.
Kotb saw Bullock’s story in the media. It shined like a light through her own frustration. Kotb was left infertile after undergoing cancer treatments. That ray of hope inspired her to fill out the adoption paperwork, which led to the adoption of baby girl, Haley Joy.
The pair talked openly about the instinctual feeling you get when a child is supposed to be yours. “I looked at him like, ‘Oh, there you are.’ It was like he had always been there,” Bullock recalled. “He fit in the crook of my arm. He looked me in the eyes. He was wise. My child was wise.” The actress went on to adopt her daughter, Laila. Bullock says she now realizes that motherhood was always what she was meant to do. “This is my purpose,” she said. The Hollywood icon urges other to pursue their dreams of motherhood, even if their journey doesn’t fit neatly in a box.
