Motherhood

Mothers don’t always give birth to us. They don’t always raise us. Mom moments, though sometimes lost to the giver, remain memorable to the recipient. Moms are all-in when they need to be and are likely never minor characters, at least temporarily.

Sometimes, perhaps oftentimes, mothers are simply there when we need them. And, at our best, we’re there when mothering is needed.

No doubt my greatest role in life has been as mother, even more so than wife. More than daughter. More than friend or even sibling. Motherhood is overwhelming, all-encomposing, spur of the moment, and rooted in instinct.

As I often do, today I remember my beautiful, sweet mother, the woman who made me feel loved even as I self-loathed, the one who turned folly into beauty, doubt into confidence  and sadness into joy. I also think about my sister, there for me in ALL of my major adult moments, my daughter who can see the beauty just as my Mom did and even when I don’t, my friends, who show up when I am most vulnerable, and most in need.

Motherhood is an ideal. Certainly, it is the physicality of giving birth, of raising a child, of being there to kiss the skinned knee, soothing the broken heart, healing the self doubt, cheering the successes, loving the sad child and ensuring there will be another day. But, no doubt, motherhood is so much more, so much that has to do with being there, stepping in, loving and lifting up and nurturing. Motherhood is limited not by sex, by biology, or even by proximity, but rather by the reach of the heart.

Happy mother’s day to all of those who mother, those who love, those who nurture, and put the needs of others above themselves.