The first Mother’s Day was May 10, 1908. When Anna missed her deceased mother so much that to remember her and honor her lifelong activism, she started a campaign for the day. It wasn’t until 1914 that Congress actually passed a resolution for the Mother’s Day we celebrate today. For some, it can be a bittersweet day remembering mother’s that have passed from this life. Or heaven forbid, even children that aren’t with us. But for others, Mother’s Day can be runny nose hugs and handprint gifts, tissue paper flowers and donuts in bed. This year’s Mother’s Day is this Sunday, May 12th.
I miss the latter, but am so grateful for the many hugs and kisses, arts and crafts gifts, and simple acts of kindness my children have shown me over the past thirty plus years. I am blessed to still have my mother with me. And so many friends and mentors that have acted as caregivers over the years, blessing my mind, my body and my spirit in a myriad of ways.
Being a mother is amazing. And hard. And enlightening. And exhausting. Over time much has been written about the experience. Here are a few of my favorite quotes that try to grasp at the definition…
- “My mother shed her protective love down around me and without knowing why people sensed that I had value.” Maya Angelou
- “That was the thing about best friends. Like sisters and mothers, they could piss you off and make you cry and break your heart, but in the end, when the chips were down, they were there, making you laugh even in your darkest hours.” Kristen Hannah Firefly Lane
- “My mom has always been kind of my backbone. She keeps me strong. She is a mother, a friend. She is really everything to me.” Aerin Lauder
- “When you are a mother, you are never really alone in your thoughts. A mother always has to think twice, once for herself and once for her child.” Sophia Loren
- “Motherhood was the great equalizer for me, I started to identify with everybody…as a mother you have that impulse to wish that no child should ever be hurt, or abused, or go hungry, or not have opportunities in life.” Annie Lenox
- “Our mothers give us so many gifts. They give us the precious gift of life, of course, but they also leave treasured lessons that can guide us along our journeys even when they are no longer with us.” Maria Shriver
- “The relationship between parents and children, but especially between mothers and daughters, is tremendously powerful, scarcely to be comprehended in any rational way.” Joyce Carol Oates
- “Stop making parenthood harder by pretending it’s not hard.” Glennon Doyle
- “I believe the choice to become a mother is the choice to become one of the greatest spiritual teachers there is.” Oprah
- “[Motherhood is] the biggest gamble in the world. It is the glorious life force. It’s huge and scary – it’s an act of infinite optimism.” Gilda Radner
- “There is such a special sweetness in being able to participate in creation.” Pamela S. Nadav
- “There is only one pretty child in the world, and every mother has it.” Chinese Proverb
But motherhood defies definition. Because there are infinite ways to mother and be mothered. I, myself, am mother to four children and two grandchildren. And I find my role changing constantly. From day to day and child to child. What they need, how I see them, “shedding [my] protective love”, trying to be their “friend”, keep them “strong”, being their “spiritual teacher”, sharing the “optimism”. I will tell you this, I do have “pretty” children.
However you are celebrating Mother’s Day this year…I hope you are blessed for the blessings you give to others. That you find peace in your heart for the love that you give. And you include those blessings and love of lots of other characters in the writing of your own story.
*This jacaranda tree is outside my kitchen window. They symbolize wisdom, rebirth and good luck. Perfect for Mother’s Day.