This morning, all I wanted for Mother's Day was to sleep in. No gooey french toast, undercooked eggs and lukewarm coffee on a tray for me. Just sleep.
Of course I popped out of bed bright and early with something out in my back. Ouch! Thankfully, the coffee was on and I'm on my second cup. The house is still quiet, and my back is now just a dull ache.
But I'm filled with thoughts of thankfulness, not just for the coffee, but for my children and for my own mother. How could I have known when I brought that first little bundle home from the hospital what adventure awaited me? I remember the feeling of purpose and destiny I felt in those first days as I settled in to a new role.
"I'm someone's MOM!"
I'm sure my own mother felt the same way when she looked at each of her four children. And even though there are times when you lose that feeling of destiny as you pick through dirty clothes and wash the millionth dish, it returns and whispers to you in quiet moments. It gives you the will to go on, to keep serving. Keep loving. Keep washing dishes.
To keep being a Mom.
Being a Mom is so much harder than I thought, but then it is so much more EVERYTHING. Being entrusted with people to raise, well, that's incredible. My mother did it with such grace and I can only hope to follow her example. I now walk in the path that she has walked: shaping children's lives one day at a time. I'm filled with gratitude for her.
I'm thankful for all the brown-bag lunches I've gotten to pack and the skinned knees I've gotten to kiss. I'm thankful for sleepy heads and car seats and spilled milk. I'm thankful for the messy rooms and the late-night snacks. Now that my kids are older, I can see how each day has built on the last day, and the dailiness of living created who they are today. The frustrations, the victories, the work and the fun are all part of our family's story.
Destiny whispers to me. "I'm someone's MOM!"
