“Try to put in the hearts of your children a love for home. Make them long to be with their families. So much sin could be avoided if our people really loved their home.”
—Saint Teresa of Calcutta
I love Mother’s Day, because I love being a mother. I really, really love it. I mean deeply love it.
I love my kids so much, sometimes it overwhelms me. I love hanging out with them, laughing with them, traveling with them, playing games with them. I love having their friends over and watching all their lives unfold before my very eyes.
Yep, I love being a mother. Now, that’s funny, because, as I’ve said, it was something I had been so scared to do. I was scared I wouldn’t get it right, terrified I would make mistakes.
Now I know my kids would say that I have, in fact, made some mistakes. My daughters say I favor the boys, and the boys say I spoil the girls. They would say all kinds of other things that I will not commit to print. But I know one thing for sure: I know they know I love them. They know they are my world.
Every Mother’s Day I hope to spend the day just being with them and laughing with them. It’s really all I want.
I also think of my own mother. Every day since she died, I’ve missed her. Often some thought will pop into my head, and I’ll turn to go call her, then catch myself by remembering, Oh yeah, she’s no longer here. Something funny happens or I’ll struggle with a decision and think, I’ll ask Mummy, and then I remember she’s gone.
But she lives on in me. Her lessons, her tips, her takeaways are in me, and I pass them on to my children. For instance: Stay connected with your siblings. Reach out to each of them at least once a week. Life is a marathon, not a sprint. Stay focused on the long road. Be of service. From those to whom much has been given, much is expected.
Motherhood is the most powerful job on earth. Our words, our attitudes, and our actions shape human beings long after we are gone. My mother has been gone several years, and yet her voice, her bearing, her view of the world, are as much alive in me as my own heart. That’s made me appreciate the incredible power of motherhood.
And yet, so many of us dismiss the role. We say, “I’m just a mother.” Or we mention it second, after we talk about our jobs. We feel we need to supplement our motherhood role with other things we’re doing, so we still “matter.”
But the fact is, motherhood is what matters, and I’m so deeply grateful that I’ve been given the chance and privilege to experience it.
Every Mother’s Day, I pray that each of my children—Katherine, Christina, Patrick, and Christopher—can close their eyes and feel the love that’s been showered on them, feel the encouragement, feel my gratitude to them and for them. Happy Mother’s Day to all of us—mothers and children alike.
Dear God, help me to always remember that the most important job I have here on earth is being a mother. Help me to honor that role and myself for performing it. Amen.