Today we celebrate mothers, be they old or new at this game of motherhood. This year I have watched my best friend, my partner in crime, my confidante, my sister, become a mother.
She has blossomed in this new role. She knows her baby. It is still surreal to see my sister as a mom. Not that she is not capable, but to have watched her grow for 9mos and to now see this little person, kicking and rolling and laughing and eating her little puff cereal and talking jibber-jabber is a miracle, pure and simple. She has created life and so has our own mother who instilled in us values and a love for life; who gave us strong roots, but equally great wings.
The greatest role we can ever have is to be a parent to someone, be they your own children, or someone else’s. To guide and nurture a little soul into this big wide world is a blessing and a gift bestowed to us. Happy Mother’s Day to all Moms, be this their first Mother’s Day or not.
Before I leave you, I wanted to share with you an essay written last year and submitted onto the NieNie Dialogues. It was written by Emily Baer (the original post can be found here), it is called Sensible Shoes, it spoke to me and I think it will resonate with you as well:
Sensible Shoes
by: Emily Baer
Motherhood is mostly about wearing the right shoes.
We are ballet dancers with our newborns in the middle of the night. We are construction workers on the living room carpet with our toddlers and their building blocks. We are scientists and mystics when banishing bad dreams and monsters in the closet. We are coaches, cheerleaders, teammates when life gets tough and faith is thin on the ground. We are therapists and sometimes we are drill sergeants. We are intuitive, understanding, and forgiving. We are the kissers of boo-boos, the medical team on the field, the picker-uppers, the duster-offers, the go-get-em-now-ers.
We are the teenage battering rams. We are the least liked chefs. We are the ponytail wearers, the carpool drivers, the wipers of smudges, the please and thank you enforcers.
We are the grateful recipients of dandelions and painted paper hearts, of whispered I love you’s and little hands held in the dark; and also of rolled eyes and skeptic pre-teen attitudes.
We are a brave face. We are pilgrims on our knees asking for guidance, direction, and a few tablespoons of grace. We are the tearful-proud standing in the corners, watching our little ones blossom for all the world to see.
We are believers of make believe and impossible dreams. We are the keepers of maps, the holders of keys, pilots and co-pilots when those dreams take flight (and they regularly do).
We are champions of the underdog. We are party planners and cupcake decorators, banner hangers and town criers when the world should know how wonderful our children are.
We are the oft under-consulted consultants. We are collectors, curators of our children’s hopes and histories.We are the ride to the movies, the ticket to freedom, the tether to self discipline.
We are the first sought when something is amiss. We are the seekers and the finders, be it mittens, or homework papers, or broken heart pieces. We are a harbor. And a force. We are just the right words at just the right moment; a quiet resolve to see things all the way through.
Joann says:
Oh this made me teary as I’ve just come home from a lovely trip spending Mother’s Day with two of my three daughters. We had a lovely time and Amanda, the youngest, put on a CD that I used to play for them when they were little. The four of us would dance around the living room with all sorts of music, and this particular one was Peruvian Inca music with handmade instruments that make unusual but rhythmic sounds. The three of us could not sit down, but instead got up and DANCED!!!!!!!
Silly dancing….like native dancers honoring the sun or something like that…………it was fun, and we belly laughed by the end of it, all out of breath………..
I have been most of the above…………..and right now am the tearful one in the corner…. proud and happy but also missing some of those other hats.
OK……….’nuf of that! Gotta put on the cleaning hat and get ready for lots of company!
xo
Joann
May 14, 2013 — 4:09 pm