Being A Mother

Today we celebrate mothers. Those unsung heroes who are underpaid, understated, and under no circumstances would ever trade places with anyone else. We celebrate their strength, their wit, and their undying patience. We celebrate their stories, their lives and their legacies.

I have heard many women say that they love their job as a mother. But is it really a job? Is it a flower's job to be beautiful and perfumed? A bird's job to sing and fly? Is it the moon's job to shine upon a field of sweet hay or the sun's to make the sand sparkle?

To be a mother is to breathe. Is to love. Is to know that the interaction with our children is not a job. It is a natural, God-given talent that we must exercise and hone with every touch, every decision, and every generation. To be a mother is to leave lasting footprints. And a smile that none of your children will ever forget.

Mothers are always remembered for their excellent cooking skills, their nights of nursing colds, their super-woman powers at packing lunches and attending ball games. They are remembered for their tender hearts, their outdated ideas and their strict over protective shadow.

But mothers are more than that. Mothers are indifferent to slimy snot, chunky vomit, poopy pants and  muddy white towels. Mothers know how to scrimp when money is tight-  resulting in Hamburger Helper that beats Mcdonald's any day. She can make the house look nice with thirty minutes of a Swiffer, a sponge and a Steppenwolf CD. She can make you laugh by what she wears and make you cry by what she says. A mother can make you proud, embarrassed ...and sometimes both at he same time.

A mother clears the way. Her feminine feet leave a path that help her children find their way. No, she doesn't solve every problem for them or clear every obstacle. She teaches them to do that themselves. Not with whining or cheating or defeat. But with energy and positivity and a hunger for challenges. She teaches them to be brave where she was not. To persevere where she failed. To treasure and fill every single day.

Because mothers know how quickly they pass.

I love my children. I may not have always done the cool thing, the in-thing or the fun thing. But I 've always tried to do the right thing. It has never been a job, an effort or a curse. It has been one of the greatest gifts God has given me. A responsibility He has entrusted me with until the day I die. It has been some of my best days and proudest moments. It has been the source of my laughter and the sting of my tears.

It has been the best thing I have ever done or will ever do in my life.

And we owe it to God to do it well.

Happy Mother's Day...