Ode to Mothers Everywhere

MOM…. One word… three letters….  infinite meaning….

I’m gonna say it… I took my mom for granted.  I was a kid.  A kid who had a mom.  Every.Day.of.my.life….

I didn’t know any different.  She was just there….always…

And just like most kids, I didn’t think about her role as “Mom” and what it actually meant… Until I had my own…

Then WOW….just wow….

It’s a cruel twist of fate that you don’t realize what motherhood is about until you experience it yourself.  Until I had children, I just assumed it meant you had a kid and you ‘tended’ to them.

I’m a mom now.  My kids are teens, so I have a lot of hindsight to pull from.

When I was pregnant, I was so excited.  I was going to FINALLY have this cute little creature that would love me unconditionally.  I was 30 yrs old, so I was ready!  Many years of life experience to feed into this field of mothering… I got this!!!

Then the baby came.  First thing that didn’t go as planned…I had to have a C-section.  Motherhood giving it to me right at the start.  NOTHING EVER GOES AS EASY AS YOU THINK!

I didn’t mind the C-section, my daughter was born safe and healthy.  I was in the hospital a little longer than I wanted to be, but in the end I was thankful. Because once my daughter was delivered I realized I didn’t know what the hell I was supposed to do with her!

I was thankful to have my husband with me – my rock – but as soon as I saw his face as the nurse tried to teach him how to wipe the poop from our daughters butt…the sheer horror on his face of having to be so …intimate with a defenseless creature…I knew we were both screwed….

The first thing I realized being a mother… There’s no where to dump the kid when you are tired.  It’s ALL YOURS to deal with!  The sheer fatigue from mental exhaustion and confusion is the first thing to hit!  The non stop bodily functions, the confusion about how the poop got to the front of the diaper…the rainbow of colors that came out… oh my goodness… I shake my head with furrowed brows at the memory of it all….

After reality settles in, there is a bit of joy at the peace from the endless hours of sleep…only, they aren’t on regular hours, so that was a bit of a struggle… I can feel myself aging by the recollection…

I remembered being excited with each new phase, but also hoping some of the less desirable stages would pass quickly… and some did.. only, they were replaced with more challenging phases…and less sleep …and more worry….

I think there is something magical about the inability to clearly articulate mother hood (or parenthood as it were, but as this is mothers day weekend…I shall defer to mommies).

Can you imagine if we mothers sat down and actually articulated all our stories to wishful mothers…. like, seriously articulated ALL OF IT…. what do you think would happen???

I’m giggling at the probable answer…..

Life would cease to exist….

Motherhood is hard.  Caring for another human is hard.  Being physically, emotionally, financially responsible for another human is HARD!!!  And it never stops!

So why oh why do we do it?

Because, in my opinion…the love we have for these creatures is far greater than the trials and tribulations of parenting a human being.

When I think about Mothers Day and being a mother… I look at my mom with total and complete appreciation.  I’m one of five kids.  FIVE….

When I think of my mom and reflect back, I have nothing but gratefulness for her being there every day.  She never judged me (to my face anyway), she accepted me for who I was, and I’m thankful to say that she sees me as a mother and she loves my girls.  And best of all, my girls love her!

My mother makes me laugh and she’s always a good ear and full of wisdom.  And I value her to no end.  I can only hope to be half the mom she is….

I’m 48 and I still need my mom.  I’m so thankful to have her here, and I’m so appreciative and understanding of her patience.  I’m so blessed to love and be loved by my mom.

Motherhood is special.  It’s sacred.  It’s a relationship like no other.  It’s difficult and it’s amazing…. The highest of highs and the lowest of lows…. and the determination to keep going….

I’m proud to be a mom and I’m proud of all my mom friends!  You are amazing and many times,  you are my rock to lean on.

And to that end, I wish to honor all moms out there, whether biological or by heavenly intervention… You matter to your children, whether they know it or not!  You are amazing and I wish you a blessed Mothers Day.

A Mothers job is never easy….but it’s definitely worthwhile.