Earlier this week I came across a graphic with a definition for Mother that isn’t Miriam-Webster approved, but one which most children would certainly find funny and true. It read:
Mother (noun)-someone who sees the best in their kids no matter what, drives them crazy, finds all lost objects, always has a hug ready and one you can’t live without. See also: superhero.
Growing up, I was always grateful to have a loving, nurturing mother who also showed me true strength and determination as she single handedly ran a business while raising three kids solo for a good chunk of my formative years. She also managed to show up to every extracurricular event and was ready with a hug and encouraging words when it didn’t go well. Yet, I didn’t truly grasp her superhero status until I was older and became a mother myself. As mothers, we are tasked with wearing multiple hats each day: caretaker, teacher, chef, nurse, personal shopper, housekeeper, psychologist, spiritual advisor, motivational coach, secretary, our regular day job and occasionally, we are treated as jungle gyms. Seriously, as a mom of young ones, I often have one child climbing all over me or trying to hop on me for a piggyback ride.
While mothers aren’t perfect at juggling each hat, they find a way to be just exactly what their child needs in their present time of need. For the times that mothers don’t get it right, the abounding love they give each day is enough for kids to overlook a mom’s not so good days. Those little hands and hearts don’t need a perfect mom, the million ways that their momma is good to them is enough to lift her to Wonder Woman status: clothed in strength and dignity. After all, their Mother is that someone who is always there ready to love on them with hugs only a Momma can give, who always encourages them to be their best and somehow magically finds everything their kids have lost, especially that stuffie they can’t sleep without.
I know the days of little hands will soon be gone, but the mark my love has etched in my children’s heart will be there forever just like my mother’s love is in mine. For it is true what Cardinal Mermillod once wrote, “A mother is she who can take the place of others but whose place no one else can take.” A Mother’s love is truly like no other.
Happy Mother’s Day to all the Mothers who love without condition, who give their children their best, and who are the true superheroes this world needs everyday.
Cheers to all Moms! To biological mothers, to adoptive mothers, to the mothers we have lost, to mothers who stepped into the role when they saw a child in need, and to furry animal mothers.
