Today I am grateful for...being a Mom!

Nothing gives me more joy, more satisfaction, more fulfillment...more anxiety, more frustration, and more fear, than being a Mom. From the moment I knew I was pregnant, I was in love with being a Mom. Knowing that I would have the privilege to care for, to nurture, to teach each of our boys, was (and still is) overwhelming.

Linda Wooten wrote, "Being a Mother is learning about strengths you didn't know you had...and dealing with fears you didn't know existed."

Friends say I am strong. As a Mom, I have discovered what strong really means. Being a Mom has taught me more about life (and myself) than any college degree or job. This job requires no training or degree, yet it is the most challenging role you will assume in your lifetime. With each day that passes, I continue to learn more. I have made many mistakes along the way, but with each step I have taken, or decision made, I have become stronger and learned more about myself.

Mahatma Gandhi said, "The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others." Isn't that what a mom does? She serves her children in a multitude of ways. She makes sacrifices to provide the best for her children. She loves her children unconditionally and strives to teach them to be the best he (or she) can be. And in return, she grows and finds herself in a place she never knew existed before being a Mom.

I have been fulfilled with an indescribable joy watching three lives be formed and discovered why I was sent to this world. Loving someone unconditionally, helping your son to be the best he can be, to make good decisions, and raising your boys to be ready to spread their own wings and soar, is what being a mom means to me. This is a role I am privileged to experience. It is the most rewarding role I will ever embrace.

Today more than ever, I am grateful for being a Mom. These past 4 months have been challenging in ways I never dreamed I would be challenged. Hearing the diagnosis of cancer was overwhelming and down-right scary. I felt alone like never before. I felt out of control, which for me, was unimaginable. For some reason, I thought I was in control before!

Being a Mom these past 4 months has helped me navigate this uncertain time. The daily challenges of being a Mom still exist and have helped me through many days, especially those since mid-March when life ceased to be "normal". Doing the daily chores of a mom; being the referee between a 16, 19 and 21 year old; keeping plenty of food in the fridge when you can't go into a grocery store; managing the the piles of dirty laundry and the make-shift work spaces for everyone under one roof...are all distractions (I have embraced) from the reality of my most recent challenge. I LOVE BEING A MOM!

To all the Moms (and Godmothers), I wish you the happiest of Mother's Days. May you be surrounded by all the joys that motherhood brings and fulfilled in knowing you have made this world a better place, by raising your child to be the best he (or she) can be. Hugs to all!






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