I have always thought of marriage as being the most complicated of relationships because...well, it is.
But not compared to motherhood. Because that's the thing that brings you to your knees and keeps you there.
I have been privileged in my life to have a great mom and a great mother-in-law, a sister and sister-in-law who filled in empty spaces sometimes, and mothers of friends whom I have loved.
I've been even more privileged to have kids, kids-in-law, grandkids, and friends of kids to have chances to try and fail and try again to be someone good in their lives.
I mention try and fail because I think...sometimes...I've been a pretty good mother, and other times I have just sucked at it. The list of people in the paragraph above have given credit for the former and forgiven the latter.
Parent and child relationships give birth to more emotions than I ever could have imagined, ones that go deeper, are more painful, and are more wonderful than the human imagination can encompass.
I've tried for years now, and I've never been able to accomplish a good Mother's Day column yet. This one is no exception. And it is always for the same reason.
It is because every day you love a child from the very deepest part of your heart, whether it's your child or not, is Mother's Day.
I wish you a happy day tomorrow, and a good week. Be nice to somebody.
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So true, Liz. We're not mothers for only one day of the year. We're mothers every day, and forever, even when our kids are adults. But the great thing about having adult children is you get to be a grandmother!
ReplyDeleteAnd what a reward that is! :-)
DeleteI've always sorta hated these kinds of holidays for the very reason that we are always moms, kids are always our kids...we should celebrate that every day--even on the days when celebrating anything at all is hard. Hugs!
ReplyDeleteI like the holidays, but I wish they were...littler, for the fact that people sometime spend the day feeling loss instead of celebration.
DeleteYes, indeed. Moms are moms 24x7. Happy Mother's Day tomorrow and, as you point out, every day.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Roseann. To you, too!
DeleteI never had the honor of birthing children but did a lot of mothering nonetheless. And I was blessed with a mother, stepmother, mother in law and older friends who bothered me when I most needed it. Here's a special hug for all of them and for you Liz!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Kim! The word "mother" is too limiting, isn't it? It's the job and the love that's huge.
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