This is for all the mothers who have sat
up all night with sick toddlers in their arms, wiping up barf laced
with
Oscar Mayer wieners and cherry Kool-Aid saying, "It's OK honey,
Mommy's here."
Who walk around the house all night with their
babies when they keep crying and won't stop.
This is for all the
mothers who show up at work with spit-up in their hair and milk
stains on their blouses and diapers in their purse.
For all the
mothers who run carpools and make cookies and sew Halloween
costumes.
And all the mothers who DON'T.
This is for the mothers who
gave birth to babies they'll never see.
And the mothers who took
those babies and gave them homes..
This is for all the mothers who froze their buns off on metal
bleachers at football or soccer games Friday night instead of
watching from cars, so that when their kids asked, "Did you see me?"
they could say, "Of course, I wouldn't have missed it for the world,"
and mean it.
This is for all the mothers who yell at their kids
in the grocery store and swat them in despair when they stomp their
feet like a tired 2-year old who wants ice cream before dinner.
This is for all the mothers who sat down with their children and
explained all about making babies.
And for all the mothers who wanted
to but just couldn't.
For all the mothers who read "Goodnight, Moon"
twice a night for a year. And then read it again. "Just one
more time."
This is for all the mothers who taught their children to
tie their shoelaces before they started school.
And for all the
mothers who opted for Velcro instead..
This is for all the mothers who teach their sons to cook and their
daughters to sink a jump shot.
This is for all mothers whose
heads turn automatically when a little voice calls "Mom?" in a crowd,
even though they know their own off spring are at home.
This is
for all the mothers who sent their kids to school with stomach
aches, assuring them they'd be just FINE once they got there, only to
get calls from the school nurse an hour later asking them to please
pick them up. Right away.
This is for mothers whose children have
gone astray, who can't find the words to reach them.
For all the
mothers who bite their lips sometimes until they bleed - when
their 14 year olds dye their hair green.
What makes a good Mother anyway?
Is it patience?
Compassion?
Broad hips?
The ability to nurse a baby,
cook dinner,
and sew a
button on a shirt,
all at the same time?
Or is it heart?
Is it the
ache you feel
when you watch your son or daughter
disappear
down the street,
walking to school alone
for the very first
time?
The jolt that takes you from sleep to dread,
from bed to crib
at 2 A.M.
to put your hand on
the back of a sleeping baby?
The need
to flee
from wherever you are
and hug your child
when you hear
news of a fire,
a car accident,
a child dying? For all the mothers of
the victims of all these school shootings,
and the mothers of those
who did the shooting.
For the mothers of the survivors,
and the
mothers who sat in front of their TVs in horror,
hugging their child
who just came home from school,
safely.
This is for mothers who
put pinwheels
and teddy bears on their children's graves.
This is for
young mothers stumbling
through diaper changes and sleep
deprivation..
And mature mothers learning to let go.
For working
mothers
and stay-at-home mothers.
Single mothers
and married
mothers.
Mothers with money,
mothers without.
This is for you all.
So
hang in there, and
God Bless You.
