a timeless tale for mother's day

Once upon a time, before you were even born, a woman paced back and forth for three minutes waiting for a tiny plus sign.
And then while her belly grew and grew, she traveled across town to see a doctor and laid uncomfortably with a smile on her face as she listened to your heart beat.
And then after a long time of having little control over her own body, she did everything in her power (and she knew that somewhere inside her she could find a super power) to get you out safe and sound.
And she looked at your face with tears in her eyes and love in her heart and resolved, I will love and care for this child for all of my life.
And while family and friends passed you around and kissed your face, this woman smiled and was overjoyed with how many people found joy in your little face.
And when you cried in the night, this woman stumbled with eyes closed into your room and rocked you and sang to you until you felt alright again.
And when your hands and face were sticky, she made you clean.
And when you were able to walk, she beamed with pride as though you had won a noble prize.
And when you fell, she kissed your knees and told you that it would be alright.
And when you woke from a bad dream, she said don't worry my dear, try to think of something nice instead
And when you brought home a note from school that you talk too much to your friends, she said I know you can try harder; I believe in you
And when you screamed and fought with her, she said because I'm the mother and because I love you
And when you did well in life, she stood back so everyone could see you shine, and she said I am so proud of you
And when you didn't do well in life, she stood close to help pick you up, and she said this too will past, everyone makes mistakes, as long as you learn from them
And someday when you have a baby, you call her and say How?  How did you do this?
And she will answer, somehow you can because of the love

And even though most of her life goes without thank yous
And even though your childhood fills her life with spit up on her clothes, and food in her hair, and dirty laundry that never ends, and sleepless nights, and achy backs, and forgetfulness, and worrying
And even though your teenage years fill her with endless worrying about heartbreak, and games won and loss, and good grades, and attitudes, and teenage drivers.
And even though, when you are grown, she only hears from you a few times a week and she joins facebook just to stay updated on what is happening in your life, and she feels like you have very little need from her

A smile on your face is all she ever wants to see.

this is a mother.


happy mother's day, to my mother.
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A mother is a person who seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie. ~Tenneva Jordan

If you have a mom, there is nowhere you are likely to go where a prayer has not already been.  ~Robert Brault

Grown don't mean nothing to a mother.  A child is a child.  They get bigger, older, but grown?  What's that suppose to mean?  In my heart it don't mean a thing.  ~Toni Morrison

There is an instinct in a woman to love most her own child - and an instinct to make any child who needs her love, her own.  ~Robert Brault

The precursor of the mirror is the mother's face.  ~D.W. Winnicott

A little girl, asked where her home was, replied, "where mother is." ~Keith L. Brooks

Every beetle is a gazelle in the eyes of its mother. ~Moorish Proverb

God could not be everywhere, so he created mothers. ~Jewish Proverb

Biology is the least of what makes someone a mother. ~Oprah Winfrey