Mother's Day Essay

Mother’s Day is both satisfying and exciting for me. I remember my own mom, my very special 'second mom' and all the others that stepped in over many years in the mom role. 

Celebrating all parents ~ not just moms is so very important. The work of parenting is just that ~ work. However, never a chore, although there are days and times when it feels like it.  Only when we look at our kids from afar ~ either when they’re sleeping or when we can just watch them without them knowing it, does the 'chore' vanish as though it had never been there. There are too many times when a mom, tired and exhausted, will do that one more thing for their child ~ while they develop their independence. 

The independence that begins with the first step, the first day of school and all the other firsts that follow through the years. When they are a year older, with a year more of life experience when their brilliance shines through and they believe in themselves in a different way. Unfortunately, that belief can too easily dimmed. Our job as parents is to hold, share and support all the hurts and triumphs of the growing up, up and away. We do that job sometimes very badly, sometimes extremely well and most times just ok. 

All of that teaching, guiding, playing with and letting go while holding hearts close does not stop with adulthood, graduating from anything, moving far away or being involved in their own lives. Moms, and dad, humbled by their children’s knowledge, abilities and humanity, can more easily laugh and cry with them when the ups and downs of life roll onto their horizons.

“Your children need your presence more than your presents.”

~ Jess Jackson