It’s Mother’s Day again.
That one day a year when all-things-motherly are celebrated with fresh flowers, expensive brunch food, or presents handmade at school and scrunched into backpacks.
The day when the most frequently heard phrase is all I want is a hug and a kiss, that’s all.
But for those of us lucky enough to be amongst the celebrated? We know when our Mother’s Day really was.
It was that day when your child was first placed in your arms; when you joined the ranks of that special sorority with initiation rites that rival no other. The Crown of Motherhood firmly placed on your head, for everyone around to see and admire.
This was your Mother’s Day.
And every day since.
Maybe you gave birth to this baby of your own body, after months of morning sickness, bloating, and sleepless nights. Or maybe for years you’ve been conjuring this heavenly creature in your head, waiting for him to be available on this earth and born of your heart.
It doesn’t matter. It’s the love for a child that makes a mother what she is.
Not just a single day.
And from that day forward, you are irrevocably a Mom. A badge-wearing member of the toughest group of human beings any playground bully or neighborhood prank-puller could ever face.
We wear our badges both visibly and hidden; in stretch marks, spit stains, frown lines, tears at recitals, bruised egos, and tiny pieces of our own broken hearts when things don’t go right for our children.
We make mistakes and we make amends.
Every day of the year.
We strive to be that perfect mom, hoping against hope somewhere deep inside that she doesn’t really exist.
And even if she did, we might not like her very much.
We try and model things like compassion, caring, kindness, and morality while simultaneously teaching them to use a fork, tie their shoes, suck through a straw, and tell time.
A more complicated job description can’t be written.
Sometimes the most difficult tasks of motherhood are the things you don’t do.
Like the first time you let her walk to school alone, and you don’t follow her in your car.
Or the time he screws up a school project and has to figure out a way to make it work at the last minute, all by himself.
Or when you know that sometimes a boy just needs to do something important with his dad, not his mom. So you step aside.
And when you are new to this club, this sorority of mothers, it’s easy to be so consumed with the day-in-day-out nature of the job that you miss the big picture. That one day all too soon, these tasks of nurturing and teaching, of modeling and repeating, of scolding and crying will all finally lead to the point they were intended to.
Your child will be an adult.
Which really, is the end goal of this whole parenting gig anyway.
To raise a competent, respectful, compassionate, and kind individual who’s capable of going off into the world without you. Able to make decisions for themselves, to fix what isn’t working, to make a difference, to matter to other people.
The way they matter to you.
So we moms may be the only ones who know that Mother’s Day is really every day.
Each and every day from that very first time you held them.
But don’t tell the kids; I think they’re making me breakfast.
I’m a forty-something mom trying to find the humor and joy in everyday life...
I blog about raising teenagers who were just babies yesterday, the craziness of being a middle-aged woman, the perils of a clean home, wistfulness over babies, and anything else that makes me laugh (or cry) in these years between changing diapers and wearing them.
Whoa! This is an AMAZING post! I love it!
This gave me goosebumps. I especially loved the part about motherhood being as much about what we DON’T do as what we do…
Simply gorgeous.
Happy day to you tomorrow – a lucky mama with very lucky children.
Enjoy the breakfast
You are amazing this post is beautiful is exactly that way I fell when I had my lil ones place in my chest the day I give birth.
loved it!! I’m very lucky to know you Mother I will give her a special hug in church tomorrow.
This is beautiful
Thanks.
Such a beautiful post. Happy Mother’s Day to you. I hope you get breakfast.
!
xoxo
Sherri:
Really, really great post! I agree with everything you said. I’m in awe in how beautifully you said it!
You are my hero!
You, my dear, are so lovely.
Beautiful post.
I’m off to try to stall time.
Love you and Happy Mother’s Day!
Beautifully spoken. It brought tears to my eyes.
You have certainly captured it all here Sherri. This is just so beautiful.
Have a wonderful Mother’s Day Sherri, today…and everyday. XO
This is just so beautifully written I got tears… Happy Mother’s Day!
Thank you for the wonderful post.I shared it on my facebook wall @Sigrid Maria Rogowski and in a minute I will retweet it @sigridmaria
HAPPY MOTHER’s DAY to all of you.
[...] When Is Mother’s Day, Really?. [...]
I am very sad today,my mom died May 22.2009
Great post! Makes me so thankful for the great job my mom did with me
Happy mother’s day!
I have no jokes to give you today, only warm wishes
You are so amazing simply because you can be funny and touching all in the same post!
Happy Mama’s Day! And for the record, I’d totally fear you as a Mama Bear.
This is perfect!!
Exactly what it is to be a mother!
You’ve brought tears to my eyes.
Beautiful.
Lovely post. It’s an amazing thing to see that new baby become an adult and to have some measure in making them who they are.
Happy Mother’s Day.
Goosebumps, this is amazing Sherri, such an amazing piece. Happy Mother’s Day to you!!
How wonderful. I love it. We have three already and have just started looking into international adoption. Being a mom IS an everyday thing – and you’ve reflected it beautifully here.
Happy Mother’s Day, Sherri!
Cate
Weepy here… What a perfectly beautiful post!
You always write the truth, Sherri. Beautifully.
I still like mother’s day, though, because it allows me to eat chocolate – and not share it with anyone!
Love to you!!
Wow Sherri,
Thanks for your shared insight of Motherhood. Your family is blessed.
i don’t know what the h happened to my words – that is a lovely comment up there, no?
just wanted to tell you that i could probably print and frame this – the reminders that we’re mothers on a random monday morning need to happen…often.
Lovely post! I hope you had a wonderful Mother’s Day and that you got your breakfast!
So lovely.
And yet…. Yeah, I really want a present too.
This is gorgeous.
Your are gorgeous.
What else is new?
XO
Ummm, hello! This was perfect, beautiful, and so true. I wish I would have read this before I posted this morning… you articulated what I was thinking, only far better than I could have. You have such a way with words, Sherri…
Yes – don’t tell anyone that! I need my pancakes. And Sunday Times (which I’ll never read).
Beautiful post, as usual Sherri. Hope you had a wonderful day. I’m sure your kids and husband are so thankful for you.
This was such a sweet post. Every day is mother’s day for us moms.
This had me in tears. Just beautiful. It’s so easy to get caught up in the laundry, dishes, and tears…but this is motherhood.
I love reading you because you always remind me why I love being a mom.
Once again, your tender words have brought me to tears. I am so thankful that you are in my life. I can’t wait to give you a big hug.
This is so beautiful and you’re right – every day is mother’s day.
This is going up on my favorites list! I think this makes #3 from you.
I am so glad I never hit “mark all as read” on your posts when I get behind because then I would miss lovely things like this.
Sherri, I can always count on you to keep me grounded in this mom thing. To remind me that the time goes quickly and that even though there is joy the whole way? Each step is fleeting.
This is lovely, my friend.
Beautiful. Just beautiful. *wipes tears from eyes*
so late to the party but because every day is Mother’s day (as in I’m always on the clock) I was a little behind in blog reading…so retroactively happy Mother’s day to you friend and thanks to this post I’m not even late in wishing it to you!