Happy Birthday Mom!

No – It’s not my mom’s birthday today . . . it’s actually mine. {Yay – Happy Birthday to me! :)}

But growing up, I never thought it was right that moms were not celebrated on these special days (and as a mom now – I double that sentiment! :))

What did I do on this day 29 {ahem} years ago? . . . . Not much.  I’m sure I caused some pain {ouch! Sorry mom!}, cried, pooped and ate.  🙂

But – my mom on the otherhand . . .

Wow!

All I can say is – THANKS Mom!!!

Becoming a mother didn’t start with that last push – nor did it end when her “baby” moved out a couple decades later.

It started when God saw fit to create in my mom a “fearfully and wonderfully made” little vessel of His love, and then entrusted His expression of pure love into the hands of a capable, but probably a bit scared, yet blissfully ignorant (gotta love those bonding hormones!), mom.

Wow!  What a blessing . . . What responsibility!

For many, physically becoming a mother was not difficult – maybe even accidental. {That’s me}  For many others, I know it was a long journey full of highs and lows, losses, and  infertility treatments.  And for some, you became a mom through the wonderful blessing of adoption. {Me as well!}

However you became a mother . . . you were chosen and entrusted with a gift – a truly unique expression of God’s love . . . just as you are the same!

God trusts YOU with this little one . . . and what you do (or don’t do) as a mom – really does matter.

No one told you the truth about motherhood.

Maybe you watched your mom gracefully handle all that life threw her way – cooking, cleaning, bathing kids, changing diapers, teaching sunday school, making homemade playdoh, cleaning again (and again and again), sewing costumes for Halloween and plays, making a big deal about birthdays and helping whip up a batch of lemonade for a young entrepreneur – and you excitedly looked forward to easily doing the same.

Or maybe your view of motherhood was vastly different.

No matter the picture painted . . . I don’t think any of us were truly ever prepared for what lay ahead of us when we first heard those precious cries, or even 9 months earlier when we saw the double lines, the plus sign, or any other indication on the pregnancy test – declaring we were now a mom.

No one told us about the sleepless nights, leaking boobs, throw up in car seats, peas up little noses, swallowed dimes (and other random objects), continual self-sacrifice, being told “I hate you” or “you’re the meanest mom in the world” . . . or possibly – what to do when your child throws bags of poopy cat litter into the neighbors yard, tries to shoot a stranger with his airsoft gun, or even worse unimaginables.  {Whew!}

Not the “perfect” mom?

Give yourself a break . . . and join the club! 🙂  No one is! {whew – and you thought you had that title all to yourself!}

Tell yourself today – “I am the BEST mom for my kids!” – because it’s the truth!  God wouldn’t have chosen you to raise and mother these bundles of joy [monkeys, munchkins, mini-me’s]  if you were not the best mom for them – if He didn’t trust you. 🙂

And no matter what type of mom you had or didn’t have – give thanks today that your mother did do something that many moms do not do . . . she chose to give you life! 

Mothering Matters

This blog is not just about the matters that relate to or concern moms – but at the core of my heart is the desire to encourage you and let you know that:

YOU Matter (and all your uniqueness)!

and

What you do as a Mom MATTERS –

not only to your kids, but to this next generation and ones to come.

Stop beating yourself up for all the mistakes you have made.  (Seriously – were you given a handbook at the hospital?  I don’t think so.)   You have done the best you know how with what you knew at the time.

Today is a NEW DAY!  🙂

And whether it’s your birthday or not . . . Go thank your mom for mothering you!  It’s a hard job – and I’m sure she’d love to know it was worth all the effort, sacrifices and more.

If your history doesn’t include a loving picture or experience with your mom (or she’s not around to thank) – then send up a “thank you” to God for choosing to create you, and for your mom choosing to give you life outside her womb!

You matter – and you are a blessing to this world!

Send this to your mom if what she did mattered!

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