What it Means to be a Mother
It’s not the way your child looks at you when they’re happy. It’s not the advice you give when a child makes a mistake, or the tears you wipe away after a fall. Being a mother means to sacrifice your own beauty. To let go of your vanity and embrace the Grace of being responsible for molding and shaping the next generation of humans so they can make this world a better place. It’s a thankless job, most days, and you wonder sometimes what it’s all for. The constant driving your child(ren) to school, sports, music, or whatever they’re into. The shopping for clothes or an Xbox, or some kind of new fangled toy or device that’s the latest and greatest. It all seems so depleting and exhausting. You go to bed every night wondering if you did right that day for the sake of your child(ren). Yet, you wake up every morning and do it all over again.
Watching your child(ren) grow and learn and discover the wonders of the world around them, is so much more rewarding than the prospect of a new dress, or a day at the spa. Knowing that who they are is because of the influence you have in their life, is nothing short of humbling. Seeing them change from one year to the next, listening to them as they figure out how to think for themselves, and acting upon those thoughts, makes one realize just how precious life truly is. The joy you feel when they work hard at something they want so badly, you can hardly contain yourself. It’s in the little moments that you begin to understand the beauty, the Grace, the “muchness” that we women hold for our children.
The day your child is born, you stare in amazement. So many thoughts and ideas swirling in your head of what you want to teach therm, how you will care for them, what they’ll look like as they grow, what their voice will sound like. You wonder what the next 2 decades have in store for you, and you relish in the prospects. But you also feel dread and fear, “Oh God! I’m responsible for another human being!” And you think to yourself there is no way I can do this as well as my mother did. Funny, but it’s true. You will never do it exactly like your mother. But, you will do it according to each child’s needs. For every child comes with their own set of needs and desires. And every child has their own path to walk. Our job is to set them on that path, guide them as best we can and hope they listen to our sage advice.
What it means to be a mother is so much more than words can ever express. It is sacrifice, exhaustion, love, joy, pride, disappointment and everything in between. It is the greatest and most important job a woman can ever do, yet the recognition is not only rare, it is overlooked much of the time. And it should stay that way. Ego has no place in a mother’s heart. For a woman who understands this also understands that when it’s all said and done, you have successfully made a difference in this world. And that is reward enough.
