Joseph is the reason that I can celebrate Mother’s Day a little bit different today. A year ago, I was expecting him... I celebrated as any new mom to be celebrates. It is a celebration of anticipation. Now... now... I can celebrate as a full fledged, wear the badge of honor, sleep deprived, spit up on my shirt, baby food tasting, diaper changing, poop wearing mother.
I found a blog that I had written in May of 2006. It reads as follows:
Happy Mother's Day
I saw the nicest comment today on one of my websites. A young woman was walking through a store with her new baby and a 60ish woman stopped and oohed and ahhed over her baby. She said all the appropriate things... your baby is so beautiful etc. Well the young mother said how blessed she was to have a good baby. Her reply was "Oh, I don't know if there are ever babies that are THAT easy. There's just moms who love them enough not to mind the work!"
And, thinking how nice that was, it makes me thing of my own mother and my mother in law. These are two of the strongest women I know. They attack the daily duties of their day with a smile on their face and with the spirit of someone who knows where they have been and knows how to be the best at the hardest of all tasks... being a mom.
A mother is not just someone who gives birth. It is not someone who makes the choice to adopt. A mother... a "mom" is someone who knows how to kiss away hurts and celebrate even the smallest of triumphs. They can solve all of the worlds problems with an ease that is second nature.
And, I wonder... how is that? How does a woman just 'know'? There is no class that teaches these things. There is no book that will tell you how to do this. I suppose it's born of itself when that little being comes into your life. There is a popular quote that states... "becoming a mother is deciding to live your life forever with your heart outside your body."
I don't know how this feels. I do know that when I look at my beautiful niece that I saw come into this world... my heart melts into a big pile of goo. Is this what that mother love feels like? No... this is Auntie love. I can only imagine that mother love is even more all encompassing.
So, this little rambling is in dedication to all those mothers out there that do such a great job. There are times that you may doubt yourself...as that is human nature, but know that in your heart and many others, a child loves you and celebrates you just as much!
You have the toughest job of all and you are appreciated!
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Now I re-read my words... my pre-mother words and now I don’t have to “imagine” what that love means. I am blessed enough to know that it IS all encompassing. It IS overwhelming! It IS worth it.
And because of this, I appreciate my own mother even more. I appreciate my mother in law even more. I appreciate all of my friends who are mothers, those who are waiting to be mothers and those who are mothers who have suffered unimaginable losses.
Being a mother is by far, the best and hardest job that I have ever held. I hope that all the mother’s out there, got a chance to feel appreciated today! Because you deserve it! Here’s to YOU and all that you do!
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