To All The Mothers Who Taught Me Something

First, I would like to say thank you to my Momma back in Alaska. I love you and thank you for all the tears, worry, and laughter you shed for me. I thank you for always wanting what's best for me, even if I think I know what I'm doing. I thank you for raising me and my siblings, and still trying even when it's hard - emotionally, and physically. Thank you, Mom, for teaching me about sacrifice, and service. It's funny, you don't realize how big an impact a person like your Mom plays in your life, until you become one (or a parent in general, although I think mothers feel it more emphatically). Thank you Mom, for all that you do, and are. You are beautiful. 

Now, I'd like to thank all the pregnant mothers out there. Thank you for sacrificing your bodies for someone you've never met before. Thank you for your sleepless nights, your nausea, your swelling and stretch marks. Thank you for your tears shed at the pain of contractions and your broken tail bones. Thank you for being patient. I know it's sometimes easy to say that you wish this baby was out of you now, but there comes a time after birth that you come to miss the little fluttering (or huge kicking!) of their baby feet pressing inside you. I know I did. Pregnant mommas, thank you for being patient and enduring this kind of pain. It's funny what we go through just to bring a little person into the world. Thank you for teaching me selfless love.

Next, I'd like to thank all the Moms out there who have newborns and infants. Again, thank you for sacrificing your bodies for someone else. We carry these children for 9 months (9 long months!), only to push them out of us, and then continue to sacrifice our time, our desires, and sometimes even our well-being (eating, sleeping, and showering) for the benefit of this little person who needs all of our attention. Thank you for your, once again, sleepless nights and tears shed at the pain of trying to get this thing called "nursing" down right. You mothers have taught me that there are still good women in the world, desiring to fulfill their inner maternal instinct of having, raising, and nurturing children. We are raising the rising generation. They need all the help they can get. They need the best moms from day one. An honest, virtuous, good mother, will raise honest, virtuous, good children.

I'd like to thank the Mothers of toddlers and preschool kids (and perhaps all the way up through high school). Thank you, Moms, for being patient, especially when it's difficult to keep your cool. Thank you for worrying about your kids. It shows you care. It's hard to give kids freedom, without knowing there's risk of getting hurt (and I mean any age from 0-18). Thank you for still being good, even though you're dog-tired and feel like you're completely failing. Thank you for teaching me to care about someone so small, you would do anything for their happiness. 

Thank you to the Moms who have children out on their own. Thank you for letting go. Thank you for forgiving your kids along the way to adulthood. I know it gets lonely as, one by one, each child leaves the nest, but thank you for keeping in touch with your kids. Thank you for giving them recipes and sharing precious memories. Thank you for looking forward to their phone calls. Thank you for missing them. Thank you for teaching me that no matter what age your child is, they'll always be you're little baby.

Next, I'd like to thank all the Moms who suffer while their child suffers - whether it be from a broken bone, a little cold, a disease or an incurable illness. Thank you for standing by your little ones while they go through their journey. I can't even imagine the pain, or heartache you must go through as you watch your baby hurt. I follow a few blogs which document the journey of their children as they go through chemotherapy or different illnesses - even some die - still trying to keep that hope in a world that is filled with sometimes shattered dreams. You parents, are doing the best you can do. You're so strong and an example of strength to your children. Thank you for being strong. Thank you for not giving up. You've taught me that even though life can push you to your limits, and break your heart multiple times, no matter what, true love never breaks the bond of mother and child, no matter how hard your life has become. 

Thank you, to all the Moms who have been Mothers who have lost.. whether your baby left before you got to meet it, whether you spent a few hours or days, or a few years with your child. Thank you for still holding on... holding on to hope.. that you will still see them again, and they will recognize you as their beloved Mother. This is kind of hard to write, because I get teary-eyed at the thought of people I know (or even those I've never met) who so desperately want(ed) to have kids and have lost them due to miscarriage, disease, or accidents. It breaks my heart knowing they can't hold or kiss their little one anymore, at least at this mortal time. Thank you, Moms, for teaching me humility and thankfulness, for being grateful for the little one sleeping in her room right now. Thank you for teaching me to cherish every moment I have with her. Thank you. 

Thank you, Moms, to all those who find blessings in adoption (whether you're the adopter or birth mother). Thank you for taking care of little ones and giving them a warm, nurturing home. Thank you for giving these kids a stable environment. I've often thought if I was put in a situation where I had to decide to keep or give my baby up, what would I do? It would definitely be a hard decision. I would like to thank those Moms who have given up their child so they (the child) could have a better life. An ultimate sacrifice. They carry these babies, and then place them in someone else's arms. I can only imagine the kind of heartache. Thank you, Moms, for taking these babies in and treating them like your own flesh and blood. Thank you for teaching me that every child is precious, no matter where it comes from. They are not mistakes, and still deserve love. A good Mother's love.

Also, Thank you to the step-Mothers, who fill an important role. Thank you for having courage to step up to the plate and take care of others, even if they aren't yours. I know it must be incredibly hard to try to "fit in" with the family or try to win a child's affection, so thank you for trying your hardest. I think the most difficult task to do is learn to love others, especially those you're not familiar with. Thank you for teaching me that even though you didn't personally give life to those certain family members who you're now bonded with, your heart is still big enough to love them. 

Thank you Mothers-in-law, for raising righteous sons and daughters to marry, with good morals and a good grasp on life. Thank you for teaching our spouses to work hard, love life, and have fun. Mothers, thank you for teaching your sons to treat their future wives with respect. Thank you for teaching your daughters to love and respect themselves. Thank you Mothers-in-law for still trying to be a part of our lives, especially when all we want to do is be our own family unit. Thank you for the endless advice. Thank you for always being there and accepting a new person into your family. Thank you for teaching me that even though sometimes you may not totally get along with your offsprings' spouse, you have enough strength to put aside your differences and love and support them with anything they want to do in life.

Thank you to the single Mothers, who are doing it on your own. You work to provide for your family and also have the honest desire to spend time with your child(ren). Nobody will quite know what it means to be in your shoes or the sacrifices you have/will have to make. You have it pretty hard, as you must balance the maternal and paternal responsibilities. But, thank you for your hard work and dedication to your family. Thank you for not giving up, even when it's difficult to keep going on, alone. Thank you for teaching me that no matter how sad, lonely, or difficult it is to do this on your own, you wouldn't give up any moment with your child to take an easier road. 

Thank you, stay-at-home Mothers, for giving up that extra paycheck. Thank you for sacrificing what could be considered luxuries to be home with your kids, loving and teaching them the way they need to be loved and taught. Thank you for your 24/7 unpaid, sometimes thankless "job." Thank you for your endless cleaning, cooking, and loving - on your kids and your husbands. Husbands get to come home from work and relax, Mothers' work never sleeps. I think it's sometimes hard to be cooped up all day at home, and we often feel we're not giving enough back to society or depending too much on our husbands and not providing any financial support. Mothers, don't think this way. You are doing an important job. You may not get paid for your work and you may not feel you are doing "enough." But just remember you are raising human beings! These precious creatures need you. A job well done in the home will bring more self satisfaction, than any other job in the world could ever provide. No success could compensate for failure in the home. Take pride that you are doing one of the best jobs you could ever be given. A job that never sees a "2 weeks notice." Thank you, stay-at-home Mothers, for teaching me that a person is more important than a paycheck.

I'd also like to thank the working Mothers. I know it must be hard to put your kids in daycare or with a nanny, wishing you could be the one who spends your day with them, instead of someone else. You go out, because you have to, because you can't make it on one paycheck, or sometimes you bring home the only paycheck. You spend your time making a living, doing what you need to, sacrificing the moments when they take their first step or say their first word. Moments that should have been with you. Thank you for having an earnest desire to be with your little ones, even if at the moment, you are gone providing for them. Thank you for teaching your kids a good work ethic. Thank you for teaching me that you do what you must do, over what you want to do, for the betterment of someone else.

For the widowed Mothers, thank you for holding on. I can't imagine going through the rest of my life without my true love. I can't imagine having to put my kids in daycare, just so I could go to work. I guess I have that luxury of staying home. Widowed Mothers, thank you for your courage to carry on. My great-grandmother was a widowed Mother. I admire her for taking care of all her children. She lost her husband, and then her last baby during childbirth, almost her own life. Even though it was terribly painful, she knew she still had a duty to fulfill - to raise my Grandma and her siblings. Widowed Mothers, we will never know your pain - losing the one you love, and having to go the road alone. But, thank you for your immovable faith and hope. Thank you for carrying on for your children, even when you want to give up and despair. Thank you for teaching me to be strong, even if I may have to face life alone one day. Thank you.

Grandmothers, thank you for raising our Mothers. Thank you for teaching them to respect humanity and have a desire to raise us well. Thank you for always sticking by our Mothers, especially during their young motherhood. Thank you for having a desire to see their children and wanting to be a part of their lives. All the Grandmothers I know in my life are hard workers and full of tender hugs and a life full of history. Grandmothers, thank you for teaching me how to live with good morals, a hard working attitude, and a sense to carry on, even though you feel the rest of the world races on without you. Thank you, for being strong.

And finally, I would like to thank those Moms, who desire to be a Mother, but can't - whether they must wait a few more, long, hopeful years to start their family, or their bodies are just physically unable. I can't even imagine how hard it would be to accept the fact that I couldn't have children, or couldn't have any more. Whenever I think I'm having a hard time, or feel discouraged in my parenting, all I have to do is be reminded of someone who can't carry their own child (or doesn't have the means to adopt), and I instantly count my many blessings. I have so much to be grateful for. Thank you for still having the desire to be a Mom, even though you feel your dreams seem far-reaching. Thank you for that desire. Blessed are the parents who desire to have children, and can't, over those who could but selfishly relinquish their parental duties. Thank you for reminding me of my ultimate desire and want - to be a good Mother.

I hope I was able to touch on all kinds of Mothers. Forgive me if I missed some. And I hope that no matter what kind of stage of "Mother" you find yourself in, know you are performing a sacred miracle.  I find this Mother's Day to be more important than any other - due to the fact that I am a Mother. Not that I haven't appreciated my own, but now as a Mom I understand what my own Mother went through. It has opened my eyes to be grateful to the one person who gave me life.

Thank you Mothers, and have a Happy Mother's Day.