Happy Mother's Day!

Hi!

Ahhhhh Mother's Day....

As every Mom is human, the chances that any of us are perfect are nil.

There, I fixed it. 

Being a Mom is messy. Being a Mom is exhausting. Being a Mom often requires us to develop skills that go against our nature. Being a Mom demands more sacrifice than anyone can make us understand before we become one. Being a Mom is hard. Being a Mom will both fill and break your heart.

Being a Mom is a privilege. Being a Mom is an honour. Being a Mom is a soul-crushing level of responsibility. Being a Mom is standing by with baited breath as you watch pieces of your heart exist, live, love, and grow outside of yourself. 

Being a Mom is pouring yourself into the care, nurturing, and guidance of these humans, trying desperately not to screw it up, all the while knowing your failures, whether big or small, are inevitable. 

We set ourselves up.

We have this romantic vision of Mommyhood. The perfect baby's room with all the perfect furniture, with all the perfect accessories, the perfect toys. Our baby will be sleeping through the night in mere weeks. They will be out of diapers by two and the very latest. They will be reading and doing university-level calculus by kindergarten, because we are just that good.

Then reality seeps in. 

The truth is this. 

There are no two children who thrive under identical parenting. Each kid is different and needs different things. If you read these ramblings regularly, you know we have 4 grown daughters. Each of them needed a different kind of parenting. It makes sense. 

Every human has their own unique needs that help them thrive. It's not one size fits all. What helps one person thrive makes another wither. 

Some need to learn by doing, others by observing, and some, need both equally. 

Look, all we can do is our best on any given day.

That 'best' will not be the same each day, and that's ok.

We do everything we can to encourage them to be good, kind humans who show compassion and exhibit empathy toward others.  

We do everything we can to encourage them to shine, never letting anyone diminish their sparkle. 

We encourage them to be nothing more than who they are, and that that is more than enough. 

We try to get them to understand that they are worthy of all good things simply because they breathe, simply because they are here. 

We try to get them to see that they are precious, but never more so than anyone else. 

Yes, being a Mom is messy, being a Mom is hard, and being a Mom sometimes pulls more from us than we have, at times. 

But....

Being a Mom is still, by far, the biggest piece of who I am. It was all of who I was for a long time, as it needed to be, as I wanted it to be. Now, although I'll always be their Mom, they are adults now, and need me less, as it should be. I look forward to exploring other pieces of who I am. 

That exploration began with writing my first book, who knows where it may lead. 

So Happy Mother's Day to the new Moms, the veteran Moms, to absolutely every Mom.

Enjoy it in any and every way possible.

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May you, if you're a Mom, accept the kindnesses of the day, no matter how they taste, look or sound.

May you know the love that runs through your macaroni necklace, has no limits, knows no bounds.

May you get a nod, or maybe even a hug from your angsty, hormonal, pissed-at-everything, almost adult.

May you tap into that deep pool of patience for that secretive human, they, like you, are doing their best, the hormones, after all, are not their fault. 

May we all remember to send our Moms love that day, if we are still so privileged as to be able to do so.

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