Motherhood

This month gives us Mother’s Day, a day to celebrate the women in our lives who have given us life or who have stepped into the role of mother without being genetically connected to us. It is also a day for women to celebrate their own motherhood, and the journey that has been. Some of us may have been given several women who we have considered mother figures in our lives, and some of may have never met our mothers and have never experienced what it is like to know a mother’s love. Some may have chosen to never be a mother and some may long for the day that they can hold their own little one in their arms. Some of us may have lost our mother and Mother’s Day is a difficult day because we feel that loss a little stronger.

Perhaps one of these scenarios is yours, and you are struggling with the idea of celebrating. My heart hurts with yours if you are missing your mother or you are longing to be a mother, or you are a mother who lost her child. My heart breaks with yours if you are in a strained relationship with your mother or you are the mother in a strained relationship with your child. I understand the pain an absence of a loved one leaves in your heart and life, but I also understand the joy that is given by others who step into that hole. Our loved ones will never be replaced, but we can celebrate the relationships we do have.

When teaching in schools, we talk to the students about the importance of a mother and a father within the home and impact each can have on the upbringing of a child. Many of them have experienced the absence of one or both of their parents, and have had to deal with those consequences on their own. It has been proven that children who grow up in a home where both the mother and the father are present thrive and are more successful. Each parent brings a unique aspect to the job of parenting that the other cannot, so in a single parent household, something is missed that cannot be filled by the present parent. This is why we take this weekend to celebrate mothers, and mother figures in our lives and our kids lives; because of the unique way that they impact our lives