Is Mothers Day still Mothers Day if your kids never say anything about it, give you a card, or surprise you with a present?
I’ve been a mother for 25 years. In that time I’ve had 3 girls. Two of those I raised as a single parent. Two are still with me, and one is in spirit now, watching over me like a guide.
They depend on me all of the time and for every piece of their world. Without me, they wouldn’t have food to eat or water to drink. They couldn’t even get to the right place to go to the bathroom. And they certainly wouldn’t know what to do when they don’t feel well.
They appreciate some of what I do for them. Though most of it they have no idea about. And I’m pretty sure they don’t realize that some of the things I make them do, and don’t let them do, are only because I love them so much and want them to have the longest healthiest lives possible.
But I know they love me. They don’t say it in words, write it in notes, or draw it in pictures. But when I walk into the room and our eyes meet, their wagging tails share the secret.
Yes, I’m a pet mom and am referring to my dogs because they ARE my children. Oh, and I also had 1 step-cat by marriage.
But do we really need to differentiate what type of mother someone is?
Married mom versus divorced mom versus single mom. Working mom versus stay at home mom. Mom to an only child versus mom with a whole brood. Biological mom versus adoptive mom versus foster mom. Mom of a human child versus mom of an animal child.
Sometimes society focuses too much on what makes us different, and not enough on what binds us together as one.
If you get any two moms together, no matter which categories they may fall into, they will all have similar emotions and experiences equally defining each as “mother”.
Working hard to make enough money to pay for what their kids need – medical care, healthy food, medicines, supplements, haircuts, toys to occupy their minds and activities to get their bodies moving.
Sometimes going without for themselves to ensure the child they love has everything they could ever want and need.
Carving out time in an already busy day to help them with things they need help with – making meals, finding the bathroom, getting some exercise.
Sometimes not getting in things they may have wanted to do for themselves to ensure the child they love has everything they could ever want and need.
Juggling to-do lists when the unexpected happens – a bathroom accident, a sickness, an injury, acute fears and chronic anxieties.
Sometimes missing out on other activities they needed to do to ensure the child they love has everything they could ever want and need.
Agonizing over how to help them solve a problems they have – like separation anxiety, fear of thunderstorms, skin allergies, or
how to keep them safe from the dangers of their outside environment – like ticks with lyme disease, mosquitoes with heartworm, or other animals that could do them harm.
Sometimes losing sleep while the mind spins to ensure the child they love has everything they could ever want or need.
There’s not just one way to “really” be a mother. There are as many endless ways as the female spirit has to nurture another soul.
So to all of us out there who care for another being,
not because we have to, but because we love them so much that anything less just isn’t possible-
Even though your furry children have a tougher time articulating their feelings to you clearly,
Know that you are their world, you are their everything, and you are their mother.
Happy Mothers Day!