In honor of Mother’s Day, I thought I’d take a moment to contemplate my experience of motherhood.
My experience of motherhood began with my own mother. While I don’t remember the nine months I spent growing in my mother’s womb, nor do I recall the eighteen months my mother spent breastfeeding me; I do remember that my mom was always there for us. I remember blissful summers eating fresh strawberries and green beans from the garden that my mom spent countless hours cultivating. I remember long winters spent sledding or shoveling our long driveway and the hot cocoa and roaring fire that mom had waiting for us when we came in from the cold. I remember my mother showing us baby mice in the garden and baby robins in our favorite climbing tree. Her efforts were limitless and there was nothing she wouldn’t do for us: from teaching us how to wash the dishes and fold clothes to showing us how to crochet baby booties, my mom did her very best to raise us to be capable, confident, and committed to doing what’s right in every situation.
It was only after I became a mom myself that I realized all the sacrifices my mother made for me and my siblings. I didn’t understand that the demands of motherhood began with conception and continue indefinitely. While I gladly embrace all these sacrifices and demands, I wish I would have realized when I was young just how much my mom did for me.
Now that we are expecting our second baby, I’m experiencing again the many demands pregnancy puts on my body. As I continue to eat a protein and nutrient dense diet and at times struggle to exercise regularly, I remember that my mom did all these things for me and that just like my mom, I have an amazing and important job of growing this baby and raising our son. My mom did this nine times and she was always committed to every single one of us.
So in honor of my mother and all mom’s this Mother’s Day, Thank You. We appreciate you more than we know!