Mother’s Day is soon approaching, and I know that when I wake up on Sunday morning, my family will put their all into creating a lovely breakfast for us to celebrate the day with. There will be handmade cards covered with precious childish scribbles, perhaps a token gift, and lots of hugs and kisses.
And this effort will be spear-headed by my husband. Although there are times when he’s oblivious to what a tremendous effort goes into the day-to-day aspects of being a mom, he makes a genuine effort to celebrate and acknowledge me on Mother’s Day.
In thinking about the upcoming holiday, I want to thank every single mom out there.
Yes, YOU.
Parenthood is the hardest job we’ll ever love. I can say with confidence that it is by far the most daunting responsibility I’ve ever had. As mothers, we pour our blood, sweat, and tears- literally- into not only birthing our children, but in raising them. We nurture them, love them, protect them, feed them, clean them, worry about them, nurse them back to health, along with countless other aspects that come with raising a child.
As moms, we awaken each day (likely too early) with a primary goal: to give our children the best life possible. And every night we fall into bed (likely too late) with the exhausted hope that we’ve done the very best we could that day to fulfill that goal.
You do it on your own.
And I want to thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for doing that.
Thank you for giving your child the stability of a loving home. Thank you for working, perhaps too hard, to provide for your child’s material needs. Thank you for the sacrifices that you make to put your child first, often neglecting your own desires in favor of fulfilling your child’s.
Thank you for pushing through whatever obstacles you face. Thank you for being strong on the outside, even on those day when you want to crumble on the inside. Thank you for coming home from your work day and putting your weariness aside to dote on your child, making them feel like the center of the universe.
Yes, YOU.
Whether you’ve been flying solo since the beginning or are adapting to an unexpected change of circumstances, the fact is you’re DOING IT. You’re standing in the gap, day after day. And I am in awe of you, super mommy. This parenting gig is tough, and I’m saying that as someone who has a partner that handles half of it.
I don’t know how you do it. Maybe you don’t, either. But you DO IT. Every.single.day. You do it all.
Maybe you have people in your life that will celebrate you on Mother’s Day; I certainly hope that you do. But in case you don’t, I want you to know, I honor you today. I thank you for every sacrifice that you’ve made to raise a wonderful, healthy human being. Thank you for sacrificing so much to give your child the very best. One day, your children will see how strong you really were all along, and will love you even more for every sacrifice that you made. Until then, I’ll stand in their stead, and honor you.
Happy Mother’s Day, Mama.
