Mother's Day

With the upcoming weekend being Mother's Day I of course started thinking about just what being a mother means.
Being a mother I have found that the feeling of your child's hand gripping yours will give you strength and courage. The feeling of their embrace can ease your mind when it is troubled and the feeling of their little faces against yours and their lips on your cheek can lift up your spirit and fill your heart with joy.
The sound of their laughter will bring a smile to your face no matter what is going on around you. Hearing your kids say " I love you" whether it is the first time or the 1,322nd time will melt away any measure of sadness like the snow melts under the warm afternoon sun.
Witnessing every accomplishment from smiling and laughing to writing their own name makes your heart swell with pride.
Being a mother helps us to grow in love, patience, faith, compassion and charity. We give of ourselves until it hurts and then we give a lot more. We make sacrifces knowing full well that many of them will go unnoticed, under appreciated or simply misunderstood. We love our children no matter what they do (or don't do for that matter). Being a mother forces you to care about more than yourself and what YOUR goals are. You start thinking about what your children want before you even put a thought intowhat you might want.
Sure there are women out there who are not good mothers and one has to wonder why that is. Why are their mother's out there who put their own selfish desires before the needs of their kids? How is it that children wear hand me downs and worn out shoes while Mommy flaunts desinger bags and freshly colored hair? Why do some mothers decide that their children are a burden rather than a blessing? I really don't know. I would venture a guess that society has something to do with it. One could argue that the contraception mentality coupled with the acceptance of abortion as a solution to an unwanted pregancy has created a world where children are no longer looked at as an oppertunity to better the world and ourselves. They are often seen as parasites, as burdens and infringements upon our social lives and careers. Let me tell you something. I have kids, yes that is meant to be plural, and I get stressed and overwhelmed at times but NOTHING else in this world can bring so much joy, pride and love into a woman's life like a child can. It truly is miraculous just watching them learn new things. I love watching my kids help each other out, smiling at their infant siblings, making them laugh, sharing a cherished toy or just hanging out with each other watching cartoons. They have brought me so much joy and I cannot imagine my life without them. I love my kids with all my heart even when they are drawing on my walls, crying while I am trying to write an email or talk on the phone and yes, I love them when I am trying to sleep and they decide that its time to wake up and play the wii at 6:45.