MOTHERS: WHERE WOULD BE WITHOUT THEM?

For two years, I’ve watched a pair of eagles mate and brood. Last year, Jackie waited weeks for her eggs to hatch. When they didn’t, she tried again. This year, three hatched but only two chicks survived. Through inclement weather and attacks by predators, she and Shadow have ceaselessly protected and nurtured them. Soon, the chicks will fledge and Jackie’s work will be done. Human mothers, though, carry on infinitely longer.

I gave birth to my first child 32 years ago and the wonder still hasn’t left me. Giving birth, of course, does not make you a mother. By most accounts, my own mother was a poor one, through little fault of her own. However, her failures became gifts to me. They gave me an observant eye and a survivors will, all wrapped up with a wacky personality. Those without children of their own who raised others, have shown it is the nurture that matters, not who lays the egg.

A mother breathes life into her child and then? They take her breath away. From wonder to worry, there is the breath she holds as they take their first steps; the one she uses up giving advice and encouragement; the one knocked out of her when they stumble and the one she forever bears as they navigate their own lives. While current statistics say birthrates are falling, I’m so grateful I had mine. There is nothing like children to turn ones hubris into humility!

In every room of my house there is something created or discovered by my girls. I cannot seem to part with an old birthday card, painting, or acorn shell discovered on a walk. It is part of them and by proxy, part of me. That’s why I consider their birthdays to be mine, too. Recently I gathered up some of their mementoes and had them pressed into placemats. Now, they are forever in view and not just in my heart.

A mother is tied like a mast to the ships of her children. Beyond all hope, she wants those ships to sail, just as the eagle wants her young to fly. So, on this Mother’s Day, remember that the most joyous sound to your mother’s ears will be your voice. The loveliest sight to her eyes will be your smile and the greatest gift you can give her is a life well and honorably lived.